Call of the Forest
by Moon Howler Wolf
Summary: Fate is not always predetermined, nor does it always go in a straight line. One small change can make that smooth road rough. One wrinkle in Bella's fate changed everything. Three drops of blood changed everything; reversed the roles that Jacob and the Cullens had come to play, and altered the course of love.
1. Preface

It's finally here! I meant to release this about a month ago, but my BETA was unavailable at the time, and she is still busy, so I took it upon myself to handle the first few chapters.

Disclaimer: Any recognizable situation or character belongs solely to Stephanie Meyer. I only own the little bits that I supplemented the story with, and OCs that make appearances throughout the story.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest Preface

~*~X~*~

The doctor solemnly walked towards us, and we feared the worst-that Bella had died.

As Dr. Cullen opened his mouth, we braced ourselves for the news we were about to hear.

"We need to perform a blood transfusion." Dr. Cullen looked at all three of us expectantly.

"But none of us are her blood type…" Seth started.

"It doesn't mater-she needs the blood, and she needs it now."

"I'll do it." I said as I stood up. Bella's been my friend since before elementary school; we were raised almost as brother and sister.

"If Jake's doing it, then I will too." Embry stated as he stood up.

"Good, now if you both could please follow me…" Dr. Cullen said as we started to follow him.

"Wait for me!" Seth called as he came after us "I don't want to be the one who keeps Bella's life from her."

All three of us stayed at the hospital with Bella overnight, giving her our blood. Charlie was in Olympia at some mandatory clinic, so he couldn't be there for a few days. We stayed up in shifts, giving Bella our blood until Dr. Cullen told us that she was stable.

~*~X~*~

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	2. The Betrayal of a Friend

Hey guys-you get two chapters today, just like all of my fics-the prelude and chapter 1 come on the same day!

Disclaimer:Any recognizable situation or character belongs solely to Stephanie Meyer. I only own the small supplements to the plot I added and a few OCs.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 1 The Betrayal of a Friend (EPOV)

~*~X~*~

One second I was holding my most recent attempt at a wood carving, and the next I was staring at the ground at huge gray paws.

_"Welcome to the pack Embry."_

_"Who, what, where?"_

_"Just stay put, I'll come to you."_

What on Earth just happened? Why am I on all fours, and most of all, why can I hear other people!

~*~BPOV~*~

"Hey Jake, do you know where Embry is?"

"Nope." Jake responded as we walked into the lunchroom. We quickly scanned the crowded room for Seth before getting in the mob of a line for lunch.

"He's been gone for two days, this isn't like him at all."

"I know Bella-he won't even answer any of my calls…"

"Hey, whatcha guys talking about?" Seth asked as he leaped onto both Jake's and my back, knocking us both off balance.

"Embry." I stated as we moved closer to the front of the line.

"Why should we care what happened to him? He abandoned us."

"Why do you say that Seth?" Jake asked.

"Well…I stopped by his house before school, and Tiffany told me that Embry hasn't been home since Friday."

The rest of lunch was spent in a relative silence among us-we were all thinking about what could've happened to Embry.

"See ya in Gym?" Jake asked me as the bell rang.

"Come on Seth, we have to sit through Classic Lit. to get to our elective!" I exclaimed as I grabbed Seth's arm, dragging him towards our next class "See ya in gym Jake!" I called before we were torn away from each other in the mad rush of people leaving the cafeteria.

In Classic Lit., we had a lecture about old English, and why old English was the way it is, and why we need to know about old English blah blah blah. I'm the only person in the class, save Seth, who sits next to someone I actually know and like-Seth. Just like every day, Seth fell asleep about ten minutes into the lecture. I gently nudged him awake as the bell's C sharp tone announced the end off class.

"Come on Seth-it's time for our elective."

Seth's head shot up "Really?" He asked as he quickly shoved his science textbooks and math binder into his mess of a backpack "Finally the best part of the day-band."

"See you in gym." I said as I quickly waltzed out the door and into the crowded halls, snaking my way through the crowd towards my next class-food and nutrition.

Food and nutrition flew right by. Today all we had to do was bake some desert. I made a pie, which was gone very quickly. I'm at the top of the class, and the teacher is considering moving me into the cooking class next semester.

I walked by the band room just as Seth walked out "How was band?"

"We got a new member!" Seth exclaimed excitedly "We finally have a clarinetist now!"

Seth plays a trumpet, so I'm not quite sure why he's so excited about a clarinetist "That's good because…?"

"Now we have full instrumentation!"

"Don't you need like three of each instrument to have full instrumentation?" I asked; since Seth's been bugging Jake, Embry, and I about the band missing clarinets all semester, we all know more about band than we ever thought we would've.

"Yeah, but one's better than none!"

"Just go to the locker room already Seth." I sighed, as we were now standing near the door to the girl's locker room.

"See ya soon!" Seth called as he ran down the hallway around to the other side of the gym.

I got changed quickly and waited for the teachers to let us into the gym, when I felt a cool breath lick my neck "Leah…"

"Hey Bella, I saw you talking to my brother; what was he so excited about?"

"They got a new person in band."

"Great, now he'll go on and on about how he plays and shit."

"At least this is the only period you have with him…"

"I know. Orchestra beats band any day of the week."

~*~X~*~

Please tell me what you think =D


	3. Meeting the New Kid

Here's the next chapter for you guys!

Since I don't have any school today, you get two chapters! Snow makes me happy.

Disclaimer: I only own the supplements to the plot as well as a few OCs. Everything else belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 2 Meeting the New Kid (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

As soon as we walked into the gym, I saw an unwilling someone being dragged towards me by Seth; Jake following close behind, his hand covering his face in a drawn-out face palm.

"Hey Bella, this is Phoenix. Phoenix, this is Bella" Seth introduced.

"Nice to meet you Phoenix." I said with a smile.

"Umm…Just Nix please…" Nix shyly replied, his eyes drifting to the hardwood floor of the gym. Nix has russet skin just like Jake, short, spiky black hair, and deep forest green eyes.

"How do you know Nix?" I asked, shifting my gaze to meet Seth's.

"He's the new band member I told you about. He just moved here from Federal Way; his last director had him sitting first chair, and he was the president of the band council!"

Everything Seth had just told me flew right over my head "Could you please repeat that in terms for the non-band folk?"

"He was the best clarinetist, and he was the president of the band council…"

"You guys must be lucky to have him…"

Jake coughed.

"Sorry Jake, how was auto shop?"

"Fine. It's not like they can teach me anything I don't already know…"

The gym teachers started to yell, signaling for the actual activities to start. Today we were running. Leave it to the teachers to make us run in the middle of Winter.

The teachers also thought that today would be a good idea to run relays, so today was essentially a 'freeze your ass off because it's freaking freezing outside' day. I teamed up with Jake, Seth , and Nix. Normally we would run with Embry, but apparently he was ditching.

I tripped as soon as I got the baton, but we still miraculously still got second place. I did not know that Seth or Jake could run that fast. Hell, Nix was just about as fast as them too.

After school, we went to First Beach with Nix. Seth and Jake both ran off to do something, leaving Nix and I to walk down the beach.

"You're a junior right?" I asked.

"Yep."

"Then why aren't you in fourth period classic lit?"

"I have fourth period calculus."

"Okay…wait, what? You're in calc?"

"Yea…"

"How?"

"My dad forced me into taking online math classes since fourth grade."

"That's not nice…"

"He's also planning my future out for me. He wants me to be an engineer, but I want to do something in the arts…"

"Like what?"

"I want to be a musician or a chef. Even being an artist or a writer would be fine with me."

"Why doesn't he let you do what you want to do?"

"My mom and I think that it's because he wants me to do be successful in what he thinks would work well for me, but if you don't like what you're doing, then why are you doing it?"

"That makes sense…" We both stopped and stared out at the ocean-the Sun was a shining red-orange orb being swallowed by the blue-grey sea, casting a shadow of gold over the water.

"I never wanted to be the youngest person in all of my math classes, but because of my dad, I am…"

Nix clenched his fists, and he started to shake.

"I never wanted to take physics classes over the Summer. I thought I could get away from him by taking bio and chem, but he just signs me up for Summer school and forces me to take the phys classes over Summer. I don't want to take phys 3, I want to take bio and chem 2-I want a degree in liberal arts or nutrition science, or the arts not engineering…"

Nix was starting to shake more violently.

"Everything will work out in the end Nix, there's no reason to worry about it now…" I soothed as I leaned against his shaking figure.

"Bella! Nix! We got the fire going!" I heard Seth call for us.

"Come on Nix, they finally got the fire going!" I exclaimed as I grabbed Nix's hand and ran in the direction we came from.

~*~X~*~

I hope you liked it!


	4. The Pain of Grief and Sorrow

Since today is a snow day, and school got canceled for the day, and also since I'm in such a good mood-you get two chapters today!

Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable- all of that belongs to Stephanie Meyer. I only own what you can't recognize (plot supplements and OCs).

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 3 The Pain of Grief and Sorrow (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

Seth and I had finally managed to get a drift wood fire going, but Bella and Nix weren't anywhere around.

"Hey Seth, go find Bella and Nix. I'll go get more wood."

"Kay." Seth responded as he jogged down the beach.

I stood up and turned around to see a shadow run deeper into the woods. I shook off the feeling of being watched as I gathered more driftwood for our azure blaze.

When Bella came back with Seth and Nix, we started cooking hotdogs and toasting marshmallows around the blue flames of our campfire.

After about an hour of laughing around the campfire, we heard something rustle in the woods. We all looked toward the sound, to see a flash of gray fur retreat into the forest.

Around the time midnight started rolling around Bella started drifting off, so we waited for the fire to burn out before heading back towards our cars. I swear I saw someone run away from us as soon as we walked into the parking lot, but it must've just been a shadow.

Seth, Bella and I got in Bella's truck, and Nix called his mom. We drove off when Nix said that his mom would pick him up in a few minutes.

~*~(NPOV)~*~

How could I open up to her so easily? The last person I opened up to… Cymi…

I'm a curse. Whomever I bear my soul to always ends up dead, and it's all _his_ fault. If he didn't push me to be what he wants me to be, then I wouldn't have been angry that night, and we wouldn't have crashed, and Cymi wouldn't have…

"NO!" I screamed grasping my head, the pain of losing her seeping into my mind as I collapsed to my knees. It felt like my wounds were torn open again, and salt was being rubbed in the old wounds…a lot of salt. "Cymi…I'm sorry…" I whimpered as tears started running down my face.

I heard a car pull into the parking lot. I looked up, and I didn't see my mom's lavender Honda 96, but my dad's midnight blue Ford pickup.

I started to shake again-how could mom have _him_ pick me up, when she knows what he's doing to me? I thought she understood-I thought she cared about me, but to send him to pick me up? How could she?

The truck's lights caught my slumping form, and I hesitantly gazed up as the door opened.

"Nix?" I heard the deep, rough voice of my father. I heard his footsteps getting closer to me.

Tears were flowing freely from my eyes-tears of sadness, tears of betrayal- tears of rage. My eyes met with my dad's for a split second, and my shaking got worse-much worse.

"Are you cold son? Nix…answer me!"

I started to feel warm, very warm. The burning heat seemed to get hotter by the second, almost as if I was coming down with a fever in a matter of minutes. I slowly stood up, my fists clenched, my body shaking violently.

"Nix, what's wrong? What happened?" My dad asked, fear evident in his voice.

My breathing became heavier, almost as if I was deprived of oxygen for an hour, no a month, and was just released back outside.

"Nix, let's just calm down, we can talk this out…"

"No we can't!" I snapped.

My dad took a step backward, toward his precious truck. "Nix, you shouldn't be shaking like that…"

"So now you're starting to care about me? What about what _I _want to be? I can't even have a life of my own because you want me to study day in and day out every day, just so _I _can get into a college _you_ want me to get into…"

"I just want what's best for you…"

"By forcing me to live a life that's not my own? By forcing me to live what your life _should've_ been, what _you_ think you _should've _done? Because you're guilty because hindsight is 20-20? Have you even stopped to consider that that's not what I want to be, not who I want to become? I don't want to be your redemption, I want to live _my_ life the way _I_ want. I don't _care _what you think about who I want to be, I don't _care_ how crummy you think my life will be, and I don't _care_ who you think I should become. I'm not you; I can't do what you wanted to do, because that's not right for me…"

"But Nix…"

"Do you remember the car accident I was in last year in Federal Way?"

I was met with silence.

"DO YOU!"

"Yes" he whispered.

"Do you remember how Cymoril died that very same night!"

"Yes"

"Do you know why I crashed!"

He shook his head.

"It was because my head was filled with anger _at you _for wanting to ship me off to some engineering school next year. Do you want to know why Cymoril was in the car with me?"

His eyes shifted to the sand on the black asphalt of the parking lot.

"Cymoril was there…" My voice choked as more tears came "Cymoril was there because I was venting _to her_ about my problem at home-about _you._"

He looked up, shock in his eyes as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"We were at the park, and we got talking, and I vented. When we realized the time, it was already dark, so I offered to drive her home, but then I remembered that _you_ forged my signature, and sent applications to colleges that _you_ wanted me to go to. I turned to tell her, and I wasn't paying attention… Next thing I know I'm waking up in a hospital bed, with mom hovering above me telling me how sorry she was and then…and then…" My voice choked again as more sobs came.

"Nix I…"

"And then the doctors told me she went into cardiac arrest few minutes before I woke up, and that she died." The last part came out barely a whisper.

"Nix, I'm so sorry-I didn't know how you felt…"

"No, you're not sorry. If you were sorry, then you wouldn't have sent more applications with my forged signature, you would've let me do what I wanted to do-you would've let me greave, instead of tearing me away from my love for my studies! You would've understood why my grades fell to just above a ninety, you would've understood that I loved Cymi!" I started shaking violently again, and the heat came back.

"Nix…"

"Don't you 'Nix' me, you tore my heart to pieces, you made me loose the one I loved most!" I felt the heat engulf my entire body, and a burning pain erupted from my spine. I screamed as my body felt like it was on fire.

"Nix!" Dad yelled.

I could barely hear his yell-the pain was too great. I felt my clothes flush against my body, before it felt like my muscles were falling off my bones.

A sharp pain shot through my head, and I clenched my eyes shut. My legs gave way, but I didn't feel my face hit the ground-all I felt was something hard underneath my hands.

_"Hey, welcome to the pack kid."_

~*~X~*~

Please review!


	5. The Cult

This chapter is much shorter than I thought it was, so I'll throw it in today's update as well.

I'll try to update tomorrow and on Friday, but I can make no guarantees about Friday, as I teach ski lessons over the weekend.

I will try to supplement short chapters like this with another chapter for a dual update, when they come up. Today is special, and I promise that there will NOT be another triple update.

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns everything! I wish that I did...wait, I do! I own the supplements to the plot and a few OCs!

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 4 The Cult (SPOV)

~*~X~*~

I cheerfully walked to school with Leah the next day. Just like every other day, Leah was a mess at home-distraught about how her ex-Sam, had dumped her for our cousin Emily. It was almost like two sides of the same coin-at home Leah is an irritable wretch, and at school she is as cheerful as could be. Her spilt personalities are starting to creep me, our mom, and our dad out.

"What're you so happy about!" Leah snapped.

"I'll get to see Nix again today." I responded, turning around and walking backwards, noticing that Leah didn't have her violin with her today.

"I don't get what's so good about him…"

"Where's your violin Lee?"

"I left it at school." She curtly responded.

I turned back around and happily jogged the rest of the way to school.

When I walked out of the band room after putting my instrument in my locker, I was greeted by the muscular body of some jock.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't…" I stuttered as I looked up to see that the person hadn't wavered at all. In fact, I was shocked to see the person I bumped into at all "Embry!"

"Come on Embry!" I heard someone call for Embry.

Embry looked at me; then towards the voices owner, before walking away from me.

I quickly got up and followed him "Wait Em, why don't you answer your cell?"

"Leave me alone Seth." Embry growled.

I stopped walking-frozen in place.

Embry's voice had never before held the animosity that his voice had just carried.

The rest of the day slid right by. Bella and Jake tried talking to Embry before lunch, but none of us could get him to say anything. We tried to find Embry after lunch, but he was nowhere to be found. Nix wasn't in band either-without him, the sound was a smudged mess.

The week passed by, and after every day after that day Embry and Nix weren't there.

~*~X~*~

Please review. It makes me happy when I get reviews.


	6. A Secret That Must be Maintained

Hey guys-it's time for another chapter of Call of the Forest!

I would like to thank everyone who has favorited this story, put this story on story alert, and reviewed.

Reviews make me happiest, and my happiness gets you double updates.

Disclaimer: Why does Stephanie Meyer own everything? All of the characters and recognizable situations belong to her...But I d own a few OCs and the supplements to the plot...

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 5 A Secret That Must be Maintained (EPOV)

~*~X~*~

After I bumped into Seth, Jake and Bella tried to talk to me. I ditched once US history was over.

I wish I could tell them what I am-why I abandoned them, but Sam has put all of us under a strict gag order. It doesn't help that on Friday night a new wolf joined the pack-Nix.

Just like the rest of us, he panicked, and Sam gave him an alpha order to get him to calm down.

Also just like the rest of us, he couldn't phase back for a few days because his mind was too focused on other things.

I found one of the hollowed out trees that hid our extra clothes in, before wrapping a leather chord around my thigh and tucking my shorts under the band. I let the warmth fill me before I exploded into my wolf and shot deeper into the woods.

_"What're you doing out of school?" _Sam questioned, a hint of anger in his voice.

_"Seth, Jacob, Bella."_

_"I understand."_ Normally Sam wasn't that understanding, not that I minded…_"Just keep Nix company; he still hasn't calmed down enough to phase back."_

_"Sure thing." _Leave it to Sam to make me babysit when I want to be alone…

_"You aren't the only one with problems you know."_

I hate this shared mind thing we all have to share.

"Sometimes I do too Embry…"

I pushed Sam as far out of my mind as I could while running through the forest. Right now I just needed to clear my head-I didn't care about Nix or Sam; not even Jake, Bella or Seth.

I ran. I just ran. My paws flew over the earth-my body weaving its way through the trees. I could scarcely feel the underbrush nip at my sides as I ran; it felt like I was running on air, running over nothing-away from all of my problems. When I ran like this I could forget about everything-the pack, my friends, this bloody secret…

I loved the feeling of the wind in my fur, feeling my paws fly over the earth… This was the only time where I had any time to myself…kinda.

My friends probably hate me now; I mean I brushed all of them off like they were nothing today…

I hate this bloody secret that we have to keep…It's tearing our lives apart.

~*~(NPOV)~*~

I was lying down under a tree near my house-I don't dare try to show myself to my dad, or god forbid my mother.

I just wanted to forget everything, I wanted to try to forget all of the pain I felt at my old school-I wanted to escape all the guilt; but we moved back here when my dad noticed my grades were slipping, a little more than he thought necessary.

We didn't move for my sake, we moved because of him-he was trying to control me like a marionette-deciding my entire future for me.

I moved my head to rest on one of my black paws. Another wolf-Embry I think, told me that my coat looked beautiful. I didn't buy it-he was probably just trying to comfort me or distract himself. I don't need a shoulder to cry on-I need to forget what happened, not have more crap piled on me!

From what I could hear my dad mutter when my mom is gone, he's actually _proud_ that I'm a wolf-he's ecstatic! My life was just torn from me, and all he can think about is how I turned into a wolf and how now I can go into physical labor. He covers for me, which I'm grateful for…a little. He tells her that I'm in a 'rebellious phase', and that it would be much easier to let me 'ride it out alone' rather than worry about me.

The worst part about this whole thing is that I have absolutely no privacy-everyone else can hear all of my thoughts; there's no secrets among us-no surprises.

How could I have transformed in the first place? I mean, I've heard the Quileute legends since I was a kid, but I didn't think I had _that_ much Quileute blood in me…

I shook my head, clearing the thoughts from my head-I had much more pressing issues to attend to, such as the fact that I had to run patrols with the rest of the pack, and I still hadn't calmed down enough to transform back yet.

I stood up. I stood about five feet high at my shoulder, and still growing. According to Jared-I believe, I should stop growing once my shoulder reaches about six feet, but there's no set height for any of us.

I shook my coat free of the leaf litter that stuck to my fur before I turned around to really look at my fur for the first time.

My paws were a pure black-it almost appeared as if I were wearing socks, and my body was a dark brown streaked with more neutral brown tones. My chest and stomach were a dark tan color, and from what I could tell by looking at myself through the other wolves' eyes, the majority of my head was the dark brown color, and my jaw was the tan color, while my face was mostly the neutral brown. There were also what appeared to be tan rings around my dark forest eyes, but the fur blended into this potpourri of tan and brown.

I shook my head again-I didn't want this; I just wanted my old life back, no mater how crummy it was.

~*~X~*~

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	7. When Your Heart Stops Beating

Sorry everyone!

I meant to post this chapter on Friday, but the power went out! Since I'm home today, and the power finally came back on I'll post two chapters for you guys today-my treat.

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns everything Twilight. The only parts of this work of fanfiction that I own are the supplements to the original plot and a few OCs.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 6 When Your Heart Stops Beating (SPOV)

~*~X~*~

That weekend, my dad wanted to take Leah and I hiking-a father-children bonding excursion.

I told Jake and Bella that I wouldn't be able to go to First Beach with them, and they took it well; they knew that I didn't spend much time with my dad.

"Come on Lee this'll be fun!" I told my sister as we were walking home from school "Just imagine the fresh air…"

"Shut up Seth."

"Why are you always like that Leah? You're always so happy around Bella and everyone at school…"

"Yeah, well I don't have to hide my feelings here Seth. You know as well as I do how much Sam loved me…" Leah trailed, tears gathering in her eyes "Then…And then he dumped me for Emily! Emily of all people…"

"I know how you must feel Lee, but can't you be happy for Emil…"

"How can I be happy for that whore when she _stole_ my boyfriend and soon to be fiancée? How could you know what I'm feeling Seth-you're just an ignorant boy!"

Leah's words stung, and I could feel tears begin to build in my eyes, but I mustered the will to yell back at her "Embry abandoned us for Sam's little cult; and if you were actually paying attention to other people instead of wallowing in your sadness all the god damn time then you would have noticed how hurt the rest of us are!" I felt a tear begin to flow down my cheek. Not wanting to have my sister see me cry, I ran into my room and slammed the door shut, curling on my bed and crying myself into a half-sleep.

~*~(LPOV)~*~

"Seth…" I mumbled as I heard his door slam upstairs.

I immediately regretted what I said, and walked upstairs and knocked on Seth's door.

"Seth? I'm sorry…"

"Leah, Seth! Come down here this instant!" I heard my mom yell.

Knowing we were going to get yelled at for arguing again, I slowly trudged back downstairs to face my mother.

As soon as I heard the soft chatter of my mom, I knew that something was strange-she wouldn't call us down to yell at us and be whispering to dad.

Then I heard it, I heard his voice-_Sam's voice._

My temper reached a fever high; I clenched my fists as tightly as I could without breaking my skin.

I started shaking, and I heard footsteps. I looked up to see Emily staring at me.

"Sam…" she shakily called for him.

Sam appeared in the doorway; his gaze met my own.

I started shaking much more violently; I could feel my blood begin to boil.

"Leah, calm down." Sam told me with an arrogant authority in his voice.

How could he expect me to 'calm down' when he had the nerve to show his face around me after what happened-after what _he_ did to me.

"Sam, what's going on?" I heard my dad question as he too walked into the hallway "Leah?"

I snapped at that moment. How could my dad still be talking to the person who tore my heart to shreds? A sharp pain shot through my head, and I heard my clothes rip. The next moment, I was standing on all fours, glaring Sam down, snarling.

"Leah? Good God…"

My dad fell forwards. All of my anger at Sam dissolved into thin air as I rushed to my father's side.

"Leah?" I heard my mother's shocked gasp, but she was at my dad's side too.

I growled at Sam when he tried to touch my dad's still body.

"Sam, call 911." My mother ordered.

Sam did as my mother told him.

"Seth!" she screamed.

Seth stumbled down the stairs, wiping sleep from his eyes. "What do you want mom…" Seth's voice dropped as his eyes settled on our father's unmoving form.

He started running towards us, before he noticed me.

Seth paused, frozen in fear as I stared back at him.

Then I noticed he began to shake.

His hands balled into fists as he started shaking more violently.

"Seth dear, calm down…" My mom tried to coax, but to no avail.

Seth's clothes exploded, leaving the form of a sand-colored wolf.

~*~X~*~

Please review, reviews make me happy.


	8. Blue Flames and Pale Faces

Lost power on Friday, and have been sleeping in my ski gear for the past two nights. I love PSE at the moment!

Since I just got power back, and I don't have to instruct (skiing) today, you get two chapters.

I have decided that I am going to post one chapter a day whenever I am available (Exceptions being the extremely short chapters).

Disclaimer: I only own a measly few OCs and the supplements to the plot. Everything else belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 7 Blue Flames and Pale Faces (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

Jake and I were sitting on a piece of drift wood that shone a pearl color. This was the first real time we spent alone with each other since his mother died all those years ago-I was the only person that he'd talk to for the longest time.

Yesterday Harry Clearwater died of a heart attack. We tried to visit Leah and Seth, but Sam and his cult shooed us away and the worst part was that Sue was on their side! We've been trying to get a hold of Seth and Leah; we must've left them about a hundred voicemails collectively now.

We sat in silence-today was the day we were supposed to build another azure campfire, but neither of us felt up to it without Seth and Embry.

Jake only moved from his perch to gather firewood when he noticed that I had started to shiver. He lit an orange fire; We both sat, watching as the scarlet flames danced into a blue blaze. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer towards his body.

I hesitantly slid my hand to the small of his back before we heard the staccato snap of a twig being broken in half.

We both slowly turned around to see a sandy wolf with it's ears pressed flush against his skull and it's head low with pleading eyes hesitantly padding closer towards us across the beach.

Oh how much I wanted to scream-it almost pained me not to scream, but the wolf looked so familiar, almost as if I were staring into the face of an abandoned puppy-almost as if I already knew this wolf.

I slowly stood up and started to walk towards the wolf, but Jake's hand shot out and gripped my arm.

"Bella, don't."

"But Jake, don't you see how much he looks like…"

"I don't care what it looks like-you aren't taking another step towards that flea-ridden mangy beast."

The wolf's eyes widened at Jake's comments before his eyes started to water and he quickly turned around and dashed back into the woods. A pained howl rang through the night, and somehow I knew that it belonged to the wolf that had just fled as if we broke its heart.

Jake quickly retrieved a bucket of water from the sea to douse the flame, before we got into his rabbit and he drove me home.

~*~X~*~

The next day I decided to go to Port Angeles-get a little shopping done with my non-Quileute friends.

Don't get me wrong-they're awesome, but I haven't seen Jess and Ang since my dad and I moved onto the rez when Charlie was transferred to the La Push police department after their chief passed in some unfortunate hiking accident-attacked by a bear or something of the sort.

They caught me up on all of the news that was happening at Forks High since I left. Jess and Mike are going out, and Eric asked Ang to prom. They even told me about five new transfer students-Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper Cullen. Apparently they had just transferred in the day I transferred out.

Jess and Ang both explained how Dr. and Mrs. Cullen were like match makers, because Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice were both couples, leaving Edward Cullen the only one free. They told me about how the Cullens were never at school when it was sunny, and how they each had perfect grades, and how they weren't around when they did blood typing in bio, even though it was raining.

We were walking out of a dress shop when they gasped. I followed their shocked gaze to two people, one short pixie-like female, and a moderately built male that reminded me of a mountain lion. They both looked towards us, their golden gazes meeting ours, when the male started towards me. Jess and Ang both held their breath and I looked away, but I felt his presence right in front of me.

"Would you do me the immense pleasure of giving me your name?" He asked in a tenor voice that made my heart melt and my brain turn to mush.

"I-Isabella Swan…" I mumbled.

"Isabella…I don't think I've seen you at school, do you have any classes with any of my siblings?"

"I-I don't go to school in Forks…"

"Then were do you go to school?"

"La Push."

"What? But you're not Quileute."

"My dad's the new chief of police there, so we moved onto the rez…"

"It would e an immense pleasure if we could get to know each other better."

Jess and Ang both gasped.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt…"

The pixie-like one let out a choked up giggle.

"Then I'll meet you somewhere in Forks then. How about Forks High, this Saturday?"

"S-sure…" I stuttered as Ang and Jess were hurriedly whispering to each other.

~*~X~*~

Please review. Reviews make me happy, which makes me post more.


	9. Bitter Betrayl

All right. Since this is only a 500-word chapter, this is getting tacked on this update!

I know that this is a triple update, which I said that I'd never do again, but hey you guys have been deprived for three days it's only fair that you get another chap.

Disclaimer: I own nothing! *sobs* all I own are the plot supplements and a few OCs... STephanie Meyer owns everything else...

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 8 Bitter Betrayal (SPOV)

~*~X~*~

As soon as those words left Jake's mouth-one of my best friend's mouths, my eyes started to water.

I couldn't believe that Jake of all people said those things about me.

My paws flew over the earth, I barely felt them touch the ground.

My mind was a wretch, and I didn't know where I was running until I ran headfirst into a tree.

I yelped before sitting back up again and releasing a long sorrowful howl.

When I ran out of air, I collapsed. Feeling sorry for myself, I fell into an uneasy sleep.

~*~(LPOV)~*~

I could feel my brother's anguish-his sorrow; we all could.

The day after Jake said those things Seth was so depressed that he almost shut everyone out-even Sam couldn't use an alpha order on him. I really want to punch Jake in the face for hurting my baby brother, but if I did that then I would have to explain about us. Seth's mind was closed to everyone, save for Nix and Embry.

Nix had better luck maintaining conversation with Seth, but he had his own problems to deal with.

Now even Embry was having trouble extracting a response from Seth.

When Seth phased back for the first time he immediately phased back into his wolf form and wallowed in his sadness some more.

Eventually we all just got used to Seth's constant moping

On the day of our father's funeral Seth was nowhere to be found. I had to come up with a cover story that didn't expose the pack. You have no idea how hard that was.

Jake and Bella ambushed me, so I told them that we couldn't be friends anymore.

Bella ran off crying, Jake following in hot pursuit, but not before sending me a death glare that had me shivering.

During the entire funeral I could feel Jake's gaze resting on me-staring daggers into my skin.

I tried to ignore it, but I couldn't; I knew how much I hurt Bella, how she feels betrayed by all of us. The sad thing is that soon she'll be alone; Jacob is already starting to show the outward signs of phasing, and when he does phase, he'll have to abandon Bella just like the rest of us.

~*~(SPOV)~*~

I missed the funeral; I regret making Leah cover for me and take the grunt of everyone's sympathies, but I couldn't bear to see Jake again, not after what he said about me. Sure he didn't know it was me, but his words still stung. This stupid secret's killing me! Why can't we just tell Bella? She'll never tell anyone, and there's always the chance that someone'll imprint on her-Jake would most likely be the one to imprint on her. Luckily Jake'll be joining us soon-he's already growing unnaturally fast. I just don't know what we'll tell Bella though…

~*~X~*~

Reviews make me happy!


	10. The Stuff of Legends

Hey faithful readers, here I am with your dayly update!

One thing to note is that I tend to forget all about Quil quite often, so... yeah.

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns everything. I only have a claim to a few OCs and the supplements to the plot.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 9 The Stuff of Legends (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

Edward and I met that Saturday, and we talked about the small insignificant things that make up life.

We met again on Sunday, at the park this time. We walked the pathways, and Edward was careful to never touch me.

That night Jake took me to a bonfire-this one had something to do with the moon I think? As we were walking down the trail towards the beach, Jake and I started talking.

"So where've ya been the past two days Bells? There was no one to have the fire with."

"What about Quil?"

"He joined Sam's cult. He used to call them 'hall monitors on steroids' but now look at him-he's joined them."

"I'm so sorry you were alone Jake…it's just that I was talking to this one guy…"

"Who?"

"This guy who goes to my old school-Edward Cullen."

"The Cullens are bad news Bella."

"Why?"

"Haven't you heard the legend?"

"What legend?"

"Well I guess you should hear it, since you live on our land now…"

~*~(JACOB NARRATION)~*~

Did you know Quileutes are supposedly descended from wolves?

Like real wolves.

The Cullens are supposedly descended from this, like, enemy clan.

My great grandfather-the chief, found them hunting on our land, but they claimed to be something different, so we made a treaty with them.

If they promised to stay off Quileute lands, then we wouldn't expose what they really were to the palefaces.

~*~(END JACOB NARRATION)~*~

"I thought they just moved here."

"Or just moved back."

"Well what are they really?"

"It's just a story Bella, come on-everyone'll be waiting for us."

Jake ran ahead and I quickly followed, tripping a total of three times. Each time I tripped, Jacob caught me in his warm arms. As soon as we came from the path onto the beach a few heads turned, mostly from among the cult. I quickly identified Embry, Leah, and Nix standing among the ranks of Sam's cult. Leah and Embry averted their gazes as soon as I looked in their direction. I couldn't believe what I was seeing-they all weren't well enough to come to school, but they were healthy enough to be on the beach during a bonfire wearing Summer clothing in the middle of Winter?

As Jake and I walked towards the crowd of youth circling the blazing beryl bonfire, I saw the whole of Sam's cult scrunch their noses when a gust of wind blew from behind me towards them. I smelled a lock of my hair; I didn't smell anything incredibly out of the ordinary.

I just pushed the memories to the back of my mind as I hung out with Jake for the rest of the monthly bonfire.

~*~JPOV~*~

I noticed Embry and the other cult members scrunch their noses when a breeze came from behind us.

I pretended not to notice and spent the rest of the night with Bella.

Occasionally I caught one of the member's gazes, which was returned with my own firey gaze. How could Leah, Quil, and Embry do this to us?

Emby's gaze always held something that he wanted to say, but couldn't. Leah's stare was filled with a mixture of regret and hatred while Quil's was filled with longing, and Nix's showed sorrow.

I shook off the gazes that Sam, Jared and Paul sent me-almost as if they were expecting me to join them. As if I would join that cult of Sam's-everyone follows Sam like lost puppies.

Bella and I settled on a log as far away from the cult as we could. We watched the smaller children dance around the cobalt inferno as a few of the newer children were staring at the indigo flames intently, almost as if they were trying to figure out why the flames weren't dancing in their usual scarlet color.

When I felt Bella shiver, I snaked my arm around her waist and pulled her closer towards me.

She scooted closer to me over the smooth pale surface of the log and leaned into me.

I smiled as she cuddled into my chest.

~*~X~*~

Please review-they make me happy.


	11. Close Encounters of the Worst Kind

I would like to take this time to thank everyone who has reviewed this story so far, especially those of you who have given feedback.

It is the fact that you all want to read this fic of mine that keeps me uploading.

I get like 400 hits on this story a day, yet I only have 16 reviews. Reviews make me happy, which results in more double-updates.

So if you guys want a double update, then you should review.

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! Stephanie Meyer owns all, save for the supplements to the plot, and a few OCs.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 10 Close Encounters of the Worst Kind (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

I shot up and surveyed my surroundings-the wooden walls, motorcycle posters, and general messiness of the room lead me to realize that I wasn't in my own room; I was most likely in Jake's room.

"Oh my god, I have school today, and I didn't even call Charlie, and…"

"Bella?" I heard Jake's voice call, as the door slowly opened to reveal a bare-chested Jake only wearing a pair of sweats. Boy was Jake built! He looked like he belonged on a varsity football team-you could literally see the muscles rippling underneath his skin… "Bells?"

I snapped out of my reverie about the piece of eye-candy standing in front of me "J-Jake, when'd you get so buff?"

"I'm just filling out Bella."

I caught myself staring at Jake's body again. I tore my gaze away from his sculpted body, and met his gaze "What about Charlie? What about school…?"

"Sheesh Bells, did you forget we had today off? And where do you usually sleep after the lunar bonfires? Here."

I racked my brain for answers, and I pulled from the depths of the endless abyss that was my memory that we did in fact have today off. I stretched and flung my feet off the side of Jake's bed. I looked at what I was wearing, to see I was in one of Jake's t-shirts. "You really couldn't find an extra pair of Rachel or Rebecca's pajamas?"

"But then I'd have to…you know…"

"Look?"

"No…Rachel's, uh, smaller than you so…"

"So what? I can't believe you think about your sister like that Jacob…" I trailed off as I realized that Jake didn't want to touch me _that_ closely, so he dressed me in what would be most comfortable for me, and the least awkward between us when we both got up in the morning.

I started to think just how considerate Jake really was-he respected my personal space, he doesn't take advantage of me when I pass out on him, and his body… He's perfect in every way... Bad Bella!

I heard my cell vibrate, and I picked it up off the wooden windowsill above Jake's bed. I checked the caller id to see it was Edward-somehow we had exchanged numbers sometime during the past few days, though I don't remember actually giving him my phone or asking him for his number...

"Hi Edward."

Jake glared at me.

"Hello Bella."

"So what's up?"

"My sister-Alice, wants to have a girl's with you…this evening."

"Alice? Who's that?"

"My sister." I still didn't know who Alice was. Probably sensing from the silence that I was lost Edward continued "The person who was with me the day I met you…"

"Okay…um, sure. Alice wouldn't mind if I brought a friend of mine, would she?"

I heard Edward call for Alice in the background, before a female's voice flowed from my phone. "You do know that this is supposed to be a _girl's_ night out, right Bella?"

I was shocked that she thought I was talking about Jake. Was Alice psychic? "H-how did you know I was…"

"I was just making sure you knew, but he could just hold our bags…"

"You mean we're going shopping?"

"Well, yeah. Your wardrobe is so last decade."

"Great, I'm going out with a fashion nut..." I mumbled.

"What was that Bella?" I heard rather loud laughter in the background-laughter that sounded like it was coming from Edward and a few other people.

"N-nothing Alice. See you this afternoon?"

"Yep."

"Where should we meet?" I already agreed to this thing. Serves me right-I shouldn't've agreed so easily…

"Why don't we meet in front of that one bookstore in Port Angeles…Sorry, I have to go now. See you tonight!" I heard the click as Alice disconnected the call.

"So what was that all about?" Jake asked me, his arms folded over his gorgeous…Get your head out of the gutter Bella! He's your best friend for god's sake!

"Edward's sister wants to take me shopping tonight, and I managed to get you in on it too."

"Why do I have to go?"

"Cause I just doesn't feel right when I'm around the Cullens, almost as if they're hiding something…"

~*~X~*~

I'd just gotten to the place where I was supposed to meet Jake and Alice that night. I looked at the clock in the bookstore, to see that I was an hour early!

"Why am I here so early?" I groaned as I walked into the bookstore.

I walked up and down the isles until a blue leather book with gold lettering caught my eye. On the spine it read 'Old Quileute Legends'. I pulled the book from the shelf and skimmed through it. The book depicted a lot of Quileute legends. Since I lived on the rez I figured that I might as well know the legends, I mean it's sad that I've lived on the rez for almost a year now and I've only ever heard one legend-the one Jacob told me yesterday on our way to the beach.

I paid for the book and stowed it away in my purse as I walked out of the bookstore. As soon as the cool, damp air kissed my face, I was greeted by an equally cold hug. This wasn't a natural cold though-it felt wrong, almost sinister. That feeling of something being wrong started to creep into the back of my mind, but I quickly pushed it as far away as I could.

"Hi Bella!"

"Alice?"

"Yep." Alice said, pulling back from the hug and sliding one of her hands into one of my own. Her hand was cold…and firm-much firmer than someone should be. "Let's go Bella!" Alice started dragging me away from the store front.

"Wait, what about Jacob?" My phone started to vibrate at that very moment "Hello?" I asked into the mouthpiece.

"Hey Bells." I heard Jake's voice respond.

"Jake, where are you?"

"I can't go Bella, I'm sorry."

"Why can't you come Jacob?"

"I have to study for a physics test tomorrow, sorry Bells I…"

"No, don't apologize Jake, I don't want to keep you from passing…"

"See you tomorrow?"

"Yep."

"Bye Bells."

"Bye Jake."

I hung up and slid my phone back into my pocket to be greeted by a very impatient glare from Alice "What?"

"Hurry up Bella; we don't have all night to shop for your new wardrobe."

When Alice said that she wanted to buy me a new wardrobe, she wasn't kidding. In an hour, she had already bought over three hundred dollars worth of clothes for me, insisting that they were all gifts from her and her family. I watched in amazement as Alice produced hundred dollar bill after hundred dollar bill from her purse. After about two hours, she had spent about six hundred dollars in about seven different stores. Luckily, she left all of the bags in _her_ car.

"Come on Bella-we still have a dozen more stores to go to." Alice whined as she dragged me towards the next store she wanted me to go to.

"Go in without me Alice; I need a break." I explained, gesturing toward a park bench.

"Fine." Alice huffed "But you're coming with me to the next store all right?"

Alice said the last sentence in a way that made it sound more like an order than a question. She didn't even let me answer before she waltzed into the store, no doubt she was going to spend a few hundred more dollars in that store.

I settled down on the park bench, and pulled the book I got earlier that day out of my purse. I opened to the table of contents. One legend struck me in particular-'Cold Ones'. I opened to the page, and read all of the first line when I heard voices behind me.

I snapped the book shut, grabbed my purse, and walked down the alley between the shops, shoving the book back into my purse.

My walk turned into a brisk walk, which quickly evolved into a slow jog, until I found myself surrounded by walls on three sides. I turned around and pressed my back against the wall, watching as four men started walking down the alley. It didn't take a genius to tell what they wanted to do.

"Bella!" I heard Alice's worried call.

"Alice!" I shouted back, but someone landed in front of me causing me to scream.

All I remember after that was seeing the person punch all four of the advancing men really fast-I mean inhumanly fast.

~*~X~*~

"I should rip those guy's heads off…"

"No you shouldn't Edward…"

"You don't know the vile, repulsive things they were thinking Carlisle…"

"He's right Carlisle, if Edward hadn't been following us, then they would've…"

"It doesn't mater what they would've done-it didn't happen."

"But Carlisle…"

My eyelids fluttered open.

~*~X~*~

Please review!


	12. When Friends are Pulled Apart

Here I am with your daily chapter guys!

This chapter is really all set-up for the next few chapters.

Also, since I will not be available all day Saturday, I might be uploading two chapters on Sunday. It all depends on my mood and how many reviews there are.

Disclaimer: I hole no claim to the characters and plot of Twilight-that pleasure belongs solely to Stephanie Meyer. I do however have a claim on the plot supplements and the few OCs that have there are.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 11 When Friends are Pulled Apart (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

"Ah Isabella, you're awake." I turned to see that the owner of the voice was a blonde male of medium build. He looked to be in his mid to upper twenties and was drop-dead gorgeous. Like, he should be a supermodel gorgeous. Alice and Edward were standing next to him on either side.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Dr. Cullen-Edward and Alice's father."

Dr. Cullen…That name seems so familiar, yet I can't put my finger on where I've heard the name before.

He must've seen the look of confusion on my face as he spoke up "I believe I was the one who did the blood transfusion between you and your three friends a few years back…"

"Friends…What a joke."

"Did something happen between you and those boys?"

"Yeah, two of them ditched the rest of us to join some cult."

Dr. Cullen, Edward and Alice all exchanged looks.

"How did I end up here…Where is here?"

"You fainted when Edward saved you Isabella…"

"Bella-just Bella please."

"Well Bella, after you fainted Alice and Edward brought you to our house so I could have a look at you."

"What about my truck?"

"Edward drove it here." Alice replied. "Where do you live anyway? He refused to drive it to your house so that we could drive you home ourselves."

"I live on the Quileute rez…"

Dr. Cullen and Alice both exchanged worried looks.

"Dr. Cullen…"

"Please call me Carlisle."

"Carlisle, what's so bad about living on the reservation?"

"You aren't a native…" Alice started

"Yeah, and…?"

"How can you live on the reservation if you're not native?" Carlisle asked.

"My dad is their new chief of police, so we have to live there."

A brief silence encompassed the room.

"It's getting late Bella, you probably should be heading home." Carlisle broke the uncomfortable silence hanging over the room.

I drove home in silence. When I did get home, Charlie was fast asleep. As soon as my head hit my pillow, I was sound asleep.

The next day, I didn't see Jake until lunch.

"Hey Jake, where were you this morning?" I asked as I ran towards him in the lunch line.

"I slept in during first period, and I rushed here during second. I'm surprised that I made it to third period on time…"

"Don't worry about History or Algebra 2 Jake, I can help you…"

"Thanks Bella."

"No prob Jake."

We sat at our usual table, alone. Jake's eyes were darting around the lunchroom-never staying focused on any one given location for very long. It wasn't until I scanned the lunchroom myself that I realized what he was so antsy about-the members of Sam's cult was staring at Jake, almost as if they were waiting for him to get up from the table and walk over to them. Embry, Paul, Jared, Seth, Leah and Nix were all shooting gazes at Jake-at least one pair of eyes was on him at any given second.

"When did the cult start watching you Jake?"

"Right after Seth joined I guess." Jake shrugged, shifting his gaze to stare at the table "It really creeps me out-there's at least one of them in every class I'm in. I don't want to become one of Sam's puppies Bella-Embry, Seth and Quil have changed so much since they joined the cult-they won't even talk to me anymore…"

Jacob was cut off by the bell.

"See you during gym?"

"If I survive fourth and fifth period…"

Jake and I both went our separate ways.

I settled in my seat in classic lit, and Seth settled down next to me.

"Hi Seth."

"Hi Bella."

"Where were you last week?"

"Sick."

"Why didn't you answer any or my calls or texts, or Jake's calls and texts?"

"I lost my phone."

"What about Leah?"

"She lost hers too."

Seth was avoiding any eye contact he could make with me "Then why didn't Sue let me talk to you when I called the house phone?"

"I was at the doctor's."

"Then why did Sue answer the phone?"

"Will you just leave me alone Bella?" Seth snapped, looking at me. I saw sadness in his eyes, almost like he wanted to tell me something, but couldn't.

"Did Sam get to you? You aren't the kind, sweet Seth I remember. You've changed Seth."

"Yes I have, now would you just leave me alone?"

"I don't know you anymore Seth Clearwater." I flat out stated. A mixture of shock, grief, and regret flashed through Seth's eyes, before he grabbed his backpack and ran.

"Seth!" I called after him. I heard a locker door slam, and I looked into the main hallway to see Seth running out the door, one of his arms covering his face.

The rest of the day was hell. Luckily Embry wasn't in gym, and neither was Nix, though I swear that I'd seen them at lunch. We played badminton today, and I was paired up with Jake-who else was there? After all, Embry ditched and Seth left... Somehow I managed to hit myself with the racket about a dozen times, and Jacob about twice as many. We just laughed it off, and ignored the glares that the members of Sam's cult were sending him.

After school I went to Jacob's house to help him catch up in what he missed.

"Why didn't you return any of my texts I sent you last night?"

"I…I kinda fainted."

"How?"

"Well, I was waiting on a bench, reading this book I got when some guys came behind me…"

"You weren't…"

"No, no I wasn't Jake."

"I knew I should've gone with you…stupid superstitious dad…" Jake started shaking. I extended a hand to touch his arm, and his shaking stopped.

"So you didn't have to study?"

"Are you kidding me? The stuff we're learning in phys 2 is a cakewalk."

"Then why…"

"My dad doesn't want me to be around the Cullens."

"Why? What's wrong with the Cullens?"

"Remember that legend I told you when we were walking to the lunar bonfire?"

"Yeah, how could I forget it?"

"Well, dad believes it and he thought I would hurt you if I went with."

"How could you hurt me Jake?" I asked, scooting closer to him.

"I don't know Bella, but he made me stay here…"

I wrapped my arms around Jake's torso "It's fine Jake-nothing happened…"

"But something _almost_ happened Bella, you were almost _raped._"

"But I wasn't…"

"Come to think of it, why weren't you…you know…"

"Edward saved me."

"What?"

"Edward saved me Jake, he just came from out of nowhere and…"

"Edward Cullen saved you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"This just proves my dad wrong."

~*~X~*~

Aren't they so cute?

Anyway, I am starting to reach the bottom of the buffer of chapters that I had stockpiled before posting this fic, so double updates will be sparse, as I do not have the time to write a new chapter every day. I am also going to enter two fanfiction contests, one of which the deadline is the 13th. I already have the outline all written down, so it's just a mater of transforming the outline into a story. This may result in a lack of updates, or a dramatic slow down of updates in the near furture.

As always, please review as reviews make me happy, and my happiness results in more being written, which results in more frequent updates.


	13. When Reality and Fantasy Collide

Please ignore my comments form yesterday-I thought today was Friday.

Anyway, here's your next chapter!

Disclaimer: THe only things I own are a few OCs and the supplements to the plot. Everything else belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 12 When Reality and Fantasy Collide (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

After Bella left, I cornered my father.

"Yesterday, Bella was almost raped."

"I'm sorry to hear that." dad said in his sarcastic 'I don't really give a fuck' voice, though that could be partly attributed to the fact that I'm blocking his view from the TV.

"Well I do care. Because I wasn't there to protect her, Bella almost got some other person's will forced upon her." I started shaking.

"Jake…"

"Shut up! All because you were a superstitious fool, Bella…" I clenched my fists as hard as I could, and I started feeling warmer, a lot warmer.

"Jacob, calm down."

"She's lucky the Cullen guy was there, because if he wasn't, then…then…" the shaking became much more violent.

"Jacob!"

I felt something snap in my head, and a sharp pain shot through my body. I could vaguely hear the sound of my clothes ripping, almost inaudible over the sound of me scream. The next thing I knew, I was gazing at the large russet paws of a canine.

_"Welcome to the pack Jake!" _I heard Embry's voice in my head.

How the fuck could I hear Embry, how the hell did I have paws, how for the love of fucking god did I have a tail?

_"Just calm down Jake, we'll all come over and explain everything. You're at your place right?" _Embry's voice asked.

Where else would I be, and who the hell was 'we'?

_"At Bella's, and 'we' are me, Seth and Sam." _Embry replied to my unasked question.

I started to growl at the mention of Sam's name. He ripped my friends from me…

"_He's helping us Jake. Trust me, you'll understand…"_

How for the love of fucking god could Embry…

"Just don't think about it until we get there…"

My dad was swooning over the way I looked, running his fingers through my fur. That felt weird to think. Here I am-a giant beast, and all my dad is concerned with is my fur. I swear he even took pictures of me. Of course he stopped when I released an irritable growl, but he persisted until we heard a noise at the door.

_"Hey Jake, can you get out here? We need to tell you something." _I heard Embry's voice in my head again.

I struggled to turn around, and realizing what I was trying to do, my dad graciously opened the front door for me. I'm surprised that I managed to squeeze out the doorframe; I was about two times as big as it after all.

_"Hey Jake."_ I heard Embry's voice in my head again as I looked at a sleek gray wolf with black spots standing in my yard. Somehow I knew this was Embry, I don't know how, but I just knew.

_"Embry?"_ I hesitantly thought.

_"Yep." _Embry responded, the wolf's head nodding vigorously.

_"Jake?" _I heard Seth's voice in my head, as a sandy wolf shot from the woods-the same wolf that was on the beach that one day.

"Seth? Were you the wolf…"

_"That you called a 'flea-ridden mangy beast'? Yeah, that was me…" _Seth responded, averting his gaze.

_"Welcome to the pack Jacob."_ I heard Sam's voice sound in my head.

"What's happening? Why do I have paws, and why is Embry a wolf?" I felt a wave of sadness emanating from Seth.

_"Look at yourself dude." _Embry said before a picture of a russet wolf flashed through my mind.

"Was that…me?"

_"Yep." _Seth answered.

_"Jake, you know the legends about Taha Aki and the Cold Ones?" _Sam asked.

"Of course I do, who on the rez doesn't know?"

_"They're all true."_

_"But that's impossible…"_

_"Your own image should be proof enough…" Sam shoved another vision of the russet wolf into my head._

_"What do I say to Bella?"_

_"Nothing. She can't know what we are, or what the Cullens are."_

_"But she'll be broken without me! Just look at how she reacted when Seth and Embry joined! She'll never forgive us-she's been abandoned too many times Sam!"_

Embry and Seth looked away, waves of sadness and regret freely flowing from them.

_"She can't know."_

_"But Sam…"_

_"You __**will not**__ tell her Jacob. That's an order."_

_"You can't tell me…"_

_"Yes, yes he can Jake." _Seth interrupted.

_"Sam's the alpha-his orders get obeyed whether we want them to or not…" _Embry started, before my dad wheeled himself out.

"Jake has the blood of a chief in his veins-the blood of Ephraim Black, the last alpha and chief. He can overthrow Sam if he accepts his destiny." Dad said, patting my flank. I growled at him in response, but he just ignored my obvious warning.

_"Is that true Sam?" _Seth asked Sam.

_"Well, yes it is possible, but Jacob would have to accept that he is destined to be the alpha."_

_"I…I don't know. This is all so sudden…"_

_"Just think about it."_

_"How do I change back?"_

_"Just think about something that makes you happy Jake." _Embry said.

_"Like something that makes you feel warm inside…"_ Seth started.

"_But don't get your hopes up Jacob. It usually takes a few days to phase back for the first time…"_

I immediately pictured Bella in my mind. The next thing I knew, I was standing stark naked in my backyard with Embry and Seth fidgeting, shifing their gaze all over my yard.

"What?"

"Go put some clothes on son."

"What?"

"Your clothes can't change with you Jake."

"What do you mean…" I started as realization finally dawned on me.

I retreated into my room, and quickly pulled on a pair of boxers as I heard Embry call from outside "Just wear a pair of shorts Jake!"

I pinched my arm to see if I was dreaming, but I barely felt a thing.

Not questioning Embry's advice, I slowly removed my boxers, and slid on a pair of shorts. Embry intercepted me as I walked out of the house "Come on Jake, you need to meet the rest of the pack…"

~*~X~*~

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	14. When Secrets Tear Friends Apart

Hello everyone!

It's time for another chapter.

I will not be updating tomorrow or Sunday-I will spend the weekends writing further into the story and editing the five chapters for the week.

Without further ado, let's get to the chapter!

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns everything except for the plot supplements and a few OCs. Those are mine, MINE!

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 13 When Secrets Tear Friends Apart (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

Jake hadn't been at school all week, he won't answer his phone, and Billy wouldn't take a message. Not only that, but Seth's been avoiding me and the cult's been sending me sympathetic glances all week. As if I wanted their sympathy! They tore Seth, Leah, Embry and Nix away from me, and I can only assume that they've done the same to Jake. Do they want me to be alone?

I started falling into heavy depression the next week. Seth started talking to me again but the conversation seemed forced and guarded, almost as if he was only talking to me out of pity. I started seeing the Cullens more often and I confided in Alice almost every day. The looks that the cult was giving me were starting to creep me out. I was seriously considering transferring back to Forks High. As I spent more time with the Cullens I started to feel wanted again-I could forget the hole that Jake, Seth, Embry and Leah tore in my heart. But when I left the hole opened even wider. I distracted myself by reading the book on Quileute legends that I found, but nothing could fully take my mind off Jacob. On the off-chance that a thought of Jacob Black would seep into my thoughts, the pain would return-ten times stronger, almost to the point that it almost inflicted physical pain. Whenever a thought of… him would seep into my mind, I would be able to hear a far-off wolf's howl.

On Thursday, I got a call from Alice…

"Hey Bella, want to go on a camping trip with our family this weekend?"

I felt my spirits begin to rise "Sure Alice! Where should we meet?"

"Why don't you come to our house after school tomorrow?"

"Okay! I can't wait Alice!" My glee was starting to sound forced-even to me.

"I know, this is going to be so fun!"

That night I started packing for the trip. As I was finishing packing, I heard scuffling outside my window. I looked down on my yard, to see a huge russet wolf. I gasped. He must've heard me, because his head looked up at me, and his gaze met my own. I fainted.

The next day flew by very fast. When Seth tried making small talk in classic lit, I ignored him-my brain was set on the trip I was going to take with the Cullens.

As soon as the bell dismissed us from gym, Leah approached me with Seth and Embry.

"Bella, you shouldn't go on the camping trip with the Cullens." Leah told me, concern evident in her voice.

"Why shouldn't I? No, I have a better question-how did you know I was going camping with the Cullens?"

"Bella, um…" Embry started.

"Why do you guys suddenly care about what I do? Since you three joined Sam's cult you've never been the same. At least Seth talks to me, but you two" I motioned towards Leah and Embry as Seth averted his gaze "Avoided any and all contact with me at all. Now Jake's acting like you three. Something tells me that Jake has joined your stupid cult too, hasn't he? Well you can tell him and the rest of your precious cult that I'm going to transfer to Forks High next week!"

I was met with a moment of shocked silence before Leah broke the silence "Bella we…".

"Can it Leah. The Cullens are the only people who will spend any time with me now, and you aren't going to keep me from them or change my mind about this trip!" I yelled before stomping past them towards my truck, pushing Seth in the process, and slamming the door shut. I took a couple of deep breaths before driving towards the Cullen's house.

"Bella's here!" I heard Emmett half-squeal half-yell out as soon as I opened my door, and I was met with a hug from Alice as Carlisle, Esme, Edward, and Jasper came out of the house to join Emmett, Alice, and I outside.

"Where's Rosalie?" I asked after hugging Esme.

"She's still packing." Emmett told me before engulfing me in one of his big bear hugs.

There were few things that all of the Cullens had in common-their cold, firm skin, a crest that each of them wore somewhere, and their uncanny sense of hearing and smell. My mind drifted to the legend Jacob told me that one day. It couldn't be true, could it?

"What are you thinking about?" Edward questioned as Emmett took my bags out of my truck and disappeared into their house.

"Just some Quileute legend Jake told me before h-he…" my voice cracked as Alice embraced me again.

"It's okay Bella, trust me-it's better this way…" Alice soothed as the garage opened.

My jaw fell to the ground as I saw the cars they had-there was a car for each member of the family, and they were all shining like they were just purchased.

In about ten minutes, we were at the campsite.

"How fast were you driving Emmett?" I asked, wobbling a little as I stepped out of the car.

"About one ten, why?"

I stumbled towards the bushes before throwing up. Once I wiped my mouth, I turned to see him laughing. "WE WERE GOING FIFTY OVER THE SPEED LIMIT!"

"Oops…" Emmett said as Edward steadied me before I fell over. Alice looked zoned out, as if she were someplace else.

"I think you gave her motion sickness Emmett." Esme stated as she walked up behind us.

"Sorry Bella…" Emmett started before Rosalie cut in.

"She shouldn't even be here with us in the first place."

"Rose…" Emmett started.

"Guys." Alice said after coming back to us.

"She should know what we are, what we're capable of doing. Let her decide for herself if she wants to be with us or not."

"Rosalie…" Carlisle said, authority seeping into his voice.

"What's she talking about?" I asked, fear seeping into my voice before I felt a wave of calmness flood over me.

"Guys!" Alice screamed.

Edward looked at Alice, before his eyes went wide "We need to get Bella out of here now."

"It's too late Edward" Alice responded "They'll be here any second-they heard Bella's scream and scented her."

"Let your hair down." Esme whispered into my ear.

"Like that'll help. I could smell her in the other car." Rosalie retorted as I pulled my hair out of it's low ponytail.

Everyone gathered in a line in front of me; save for Alice and Esme, who were standing to either side of me. A tall, fair-skinned man with long blonde hair pulled in a low ponytail emerged from the forest flanked by a dark-skinned man of medium build with shoulder length dreadlocks and a woman with fiery red hair that went just beyond her shoulders. They all had unnatural blood red eyes.

"I see you found a snack." The dark haired one said "I'm Laurent, and this is Victoria and James. Mind if we join you?"

"I'm Carlisle, and this is my family."

"So when are we going to eat?" Laurent asked Carlisle.

I looked at Alice and Esme's eyes. They were both a golden brown color. I caught a glimpse of Emmett's eyes; they were the same color.

"I don't think that one human could quench all of our thirsts. I suggest you leave now-my family gets very…territorial over their food."

The three newcomers all crouched into a very feline stance that was mimicked by all of the Cullens, save Emmett. His crouch looked more like a bear getting ready to charge.

"I can see the hunt is over. We'll go now." Laurent said as he and Victoria straightened their postures and backed away "James." James snapped away and followed Laurent as he walked away from us.

"We need to get Bella out of here, if we stay they'll circle us until we leave her unguarded." Edward told the rest of us.

"If we take Bella back to our house we'll be able to defend her much more easily." Carlisle suggested "Bella, I suggest you close your eyes this time."

"What is going on?" I asked.

"I'll explain it all later Bella." Alice responded as she and Esme both lead me back to the vehicle I came in, as Emmett and Jasper gathered everything they had already set out in a mater of seconds.

We were back on the road, going somewhere between one ten and one fifty. I pulled the book on Quileute legends from my bag, and skimmed the legend of the 'Cold Ones'. A few words stood out to me. 'Cold skin' 'Hard as marble' 'Faster than the eye' 'Red eyes' 'White skin' 'Immortal' 'Drink blood'. A few words stuck out towards the end of the legend. 'Large coven' 'Gold eyes' 'Treaty'. I took in a sharp breath, and Alice turned her head towards me, seeing the book.

"Bella?" Alice asked, concern lacing her voice.

I dropped the book, and it fell shut in my lap, the gold lettering gleaming.

Alice reached over to take the book. She skimmed through so fast that the pages looked like one single, solid mass, concern lacing her face, before shoving it back into my bag.

"We'll all never hurt you Bella…"

We all jerked forward as Emmett slammed on the brakes. I looked out the window, to see the Cullen mansion, with Laurent standing in the doorway. Carlisle appeared from somewhere behind us and started talking with Laurent.

Carlisle rushed towards us and Emmett opened his door, so I could hear what Carlisle was saying.

"Our reaction to their hunting Bella has set James off. He's only failed in his hunt once, and he's infuriated that he lost that one hunt. The safest place for her to be would be on the reservation, guarded by _them_."

"But how can we get her there Carlisle? They'll see it as a violation of the treaty." Alice quickly interceded.

"Alice, you, Jasper, Edward and Emmett can accompany her to the border. Stay with her until they come then try to negotiate. Even if they won't let you on their land, ensure that they know what is happening and everything about James."

As soon as Carlisle finished, Alice grabbed my bags and was out the door, Emmett, Jasper, and Edward were all standing in my truck's bed, and Esme was carrying me toward my truck. She set me in the passenger side, and Alice was sitting in the driver's seat.

"Key?" I dug my key from my pocket and handed it to Alice.

Alice jammed the key in the ignition and took off.

"Alice, my truck can only go so fast…"

"Sorry Bella, but we have to get you on their side of the line before James can scent you."

"What line?"

"We'll tell you later Bella."

My truck skidded to a halt as low growling reverberated all around the inside of my truck's cabin.

~*~X~*~

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	15. Ice, Granite, and Diamonds

Here's the next chappy!

Don't you guys just love the cliffy I set in the last chapter?

Anyway, I'll be uploading five days a week, using the remaining two days to edit and write.

Disclaimer: Oh how I wish I owned Twilight, but Stephanie Meyer has that pleasure. I do however have the pleasure of owning the supplements to the plot and my OCs.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 14 Ice, Granite, and Diamonds (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

Alice was out the truck, and Emmett carried me out of the cabin, before setting me on my feet, all four of them surrounding me as the growling got louder.

"They want to know why we're here with Bella." Edward said to Alice "Also Bella, a wolf wants me to tell you 'Hi'."

"Wolf? A wolf?" I barely heard Alice's voice and a few whimpers before I blacked out.

~*~(JPOV)~*~

What are the Cullens doing here with Bella?

"They want to know what we're doing here with Bella." One of the leeches said to the rest.

_"Hi Bella." _Seth playfully thought.

"Also Bella, a wolf wants me to tell you 'Hi'."

I watched as Bella fell to the ground. The female leech caught her, and started talking to her as Seth, Leah, Embry and I released whimpers, and I took a step closer to the edge of the tree line.

_"No Jake." _Sam ordered.

"But Bella…"

_"No. She's with the bloodsuckers now. You saw it as clearly in Seth, Embry and Leah's memory as the rest of us."_

"_She just wants to transfer because she thinks we abandoned her!"_

"_It's better that she be with her own kind rather than chase after us."_

"_What about the leeches Sam…?"_

"Jake?" The same leech that announced that Seth said 'Hi' asked aloud "Bella's been in heavy depression since you left her."

I slung my head. I never meant to abandon Bella-things just happened. I stopped going to school so that I wouldn't have to face her and abandon her like Seth had to.

The one that caught Bella joined in "She also talked about an 'Embry', 'Seth', and 'Leah' abandoning her as well. As per the treaty, we never told her what you were, but you should tell her soon. She's been in a heavy depression from having everyone she considered a friend leave her."

I could feel regret radiating from Embry, Leah, and Seth.

_"I wonder how they can read our minds…" _Jared began to think, before the male leech who was speaking spoke up.

"I can read minds-it's my gift."

Everyone immediately started growling again. It was bad enough that we all share a single mind when we're phased, but to have _a leech_ looking into our heads too?

"Bella is being hunted by a tracker." The female told us.

Embry, Seth, Leah, and I all froze. Bella is being hunted-by a _bloodsucker_.

_"It's not our problem." _Sam responded.

I was shocked.

_"Why Sam, she's a human…"_ Seth started.

_"She's also with the Cullens. She's none of our concern anymore. We will leave now."_

Seth, Embry, Leah and I all hesitated.

_"__**Now.**__"_ Sam ordered, using his alpha voice.

The four if us hesitated, before turning our backs and running after the rest of the pack.

~*~(BPOV)~*~

I slowly woke up, holding my head as I sat up.

"They're gone. They won't help her, not even if we leave her alone." Edward started before someone walked out of the bushes.

I strained my head to see who it was. It was James.

I watched from my place on the asphalt as Emmett leaped at James. James sidestepped and grabbed Emmett, throwing him deeper into the forest. James never broke his stride. Edward and Jasper rushed James as Alice appeared by my side. Emmett leaped out of the brush. His weight on James' back forced him to the tarmac. The horrendous sound of pottery being _torn_ apart hit my ears as Jasper and Edward crouched next to James and both of his arms landed behind them.

I released a squeal as Alice covered my eyes. The sound of pottery being torn rang thrice more before Alice finally uncovered my eyes. I blinked a few times before my eyes focused on a huge lavender blaze, a rich purple smoke spiraling away from the fuel. I looked up as Edward threw one of James' arms into the blaze.

A sweet smell floated to my nose. I started to feel warmer as the smell burned my nose. All I remember after that is darkness.

~*~(JPOV)~*~

As we were running away, the sickly sweet smell of a burning leech drifted toward our noses.

~*~(BPOV)~*~

I woke up the next day in my bed. I slowly thought about what happened the previous day, and the stuff in the legend.

"Th-the Cullens are vampires." I stuttered.

The thought slowly floated into my mind, and I got thinking if the legend of the 'Cold Ones' is true, then what else could be true?

~*~X~*~

Please review!


	16. Grief is Your Greatest Enemy

The New Moon arc continues!

After this, we will be slowly transitioning into the 'Eclipse arc' of the story, before getting a huge wall of filler chapters that are being used to A-stall for time in the in-story timeline and B-flesh out more characters and character relations.

This wall of fillers won't be for about fifteen more chapters though...

Disclaimer: I only own a few OCs and the supplements to the plot that I have thrown in. Everything else belongs to the wonderful Stephanie Meyer, whom gave us all the wonderful tale that is The Twilight Saga.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 15 Grief is Your Greatest Enemy (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

As soon as I woke up I drove to the Cullen's house. When I arrived, Alice didn't greet me like she usually did; Emmett didn't run out to hug me-Esme wasn't on the porch to greet me.

I walked up to the door to find an envelope taped to the glass. I snatched it off the glass door and ripped the envelope open, revealing the letter it contained.

_Dear Bella,_

_I've seen the future, and if we don't leave you will die. I don't know if you will survive if we leave either though... We didn't want to leave you, but if the werewolves won't protect you while we're around, then we have to leave. We'll come back when I can see your future again Bella, don't worry._

_-Alice_

Tears started to stream down my face. Even the Cullens had abandoned me.

After that day, my depression got worse. I tried to see Jake every day, but Billy refused to let me see him. December slid into January, and the New Year replaced the old. January gave way to February, and March soon after that. Spring gripped the area as April came silently. Jake started coming to school the week after the Cullens left, and my worst fears were realized-he had been hypnotized by the cult. Even Seth stopped talking to me in classic lit.

Around late April, I decided to end my life. I couldn't handle the depression any more.

I had often seen the members of that stupid cult cliff diving at a specific spot. That would be where I would do the deed-they wouldn't find my body for weeks, iy would give my former 'friends' time to feel sorry for themselves. I drove down the road, and pulled over at the side of the road. I struggled through the damp underbrush, and eventually made it to the gray rock face. The sky was as gray as the rock I was standing on, and the water was as dark as the night sky.

I stripped my jacket from my shoulders, and my bracelets from my wrists. As I approached the cliff face, Jake's smiling face flashed in my mind, then a scene where Embry, Jake, Seth and I were all laughing at one of our fires. I took a step closer to the edge. Their pained faces streamed into my mind, grieving over my death. I pictured Charlie, standing over my open coffin, Jake lying in a crumbled heap, Seth bawling his eyes out. Then I pictured a beautiful golden wolf, howling in pain.

The last image confused me and I shook my head, clearing the thought from my head. I heard a twig snap behind me, and as I turned around, I slipped and fell over the ledge, down and down, towards the black waters below. They say your life flashes before your eyes before you die, but what I saw was no where near my life. I saw visions of the golden wolf from before, a russet wolf in several, a gray wolf in others, and a sandy wolf in some. In a few of the visions, I saw all four wolves together, apparently having a great time. Before I hit the water, I heard a sorrowful wolf's howl. I pondered whether the howl was in my mind or in reality briefly before I hit the water.

My eyes started to get heavy as I sank lower and lower into the tide. I saw a flurry of bubbles, before the form of a russet wolf emerged-the same wolf from my visions, and the same wolf that was in my yard before the camping trip with the Cullens. My eyes started to close as I saw the silhouette of the wolf fade into a much more familiar form.

~*~(JPOV)~*~

I scented Bella as I was running through the forest, on patrol. I slowed down and followed the scent away from her abandoned truck. _"What's she doing…?"_

_"Jacob, __**do not**__ follow Bella. She's chosen her own life." _Sam ordered in his alpha voice.

I ignored Sam and followed Bella anyway. Then I realized where we were. I stayed hidden the forest, watching as Bella stripped herself of anything valuable.

_"__**Jacob, leave her alone.**__"_Sam ordered again.

Bella took a step toward the bluff, and I flashed that image at Sam as I took a silent step forward.

Bella shook her head violently and I took another step forward, unintentionally snapping a twig. She turned around quickly, and lost her footing on the slick rock as she went over the cliff. I flashed that image at my pack mates as fast as I could before running to the edge and looking over the edge to see Bella falling. I threw my head back and howled a long and sad howl, before jumping in after her-not bothering to take the time to phase back.

My pack mates were looking on in horror through my own eyes as I drew closer to the black water. My muzzle hit the water first followed by the rest of my body. I ignored the stinging sensation in my nose as I phased and dove for Bella. Her unmoving body was sinking, her chocolate locks splayed all about her face.

I grabbed her arm and struggled to pull her towards the surface against the rip tide that was forming.

When my head broke the surface, I pulled Bella up with me. I heard a few cheers, before I heard three splashes around me. Embry surfaced first, followed by Leah and Seth. They all swam towards me and helped support as much of Bella as we could manage above the water as we swam towards the beach around the corner of the cliff.

Once our feet started to brush against sand we hoisted Bella out of the water and further up the beach. It had started to rain while we were focused on carrying Bella from the frigid waters. I put my ear to Bella's chest. The heartbeat I heard was very faint, almost non-existent.

"Jake, you have to do it." Embry pushed, his eyes on Bella's unconscious form.

"Jake, don't let her go." Seth cried, his eyes also on Bella.

"Please Jake, you can't let her die." Leah said, finally showing some emotion besides anger-grief.

I nodded and pressed my lips to Bella's, pinching her nose shut. I blew air into her before pushing on her chest in quick, brief motions.

The longer this went on, the further down Leah, Seth, and Embry's eyes fell. The guilt was starting to weigh down the already heavy air.

Right when I was about to give up, Bella coughed once, water flowing from her lips.

"Bella, please open your eyes" I begged as I held her hand.

"So warm…" Bella muttered as she weakly pulled on my arm.

I looked at my friends, whose gaze rose back up as they nodded. I laid down in the sand next to her, and wrapped my arms around her cold body. I turned her so she was flush against my chest, and her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Jake?" She stuttered "Are you dead too?"

I was taken aback that she thought that she was dead. "No Bella, I'm not dead, and neither are you."

"But how?"

"I saw you fall. You shouldn't have been there, don't you know how dangerous cliff diving is?"

She looked up at me, her exression blank "You're so warm Jake…" Bella mumbled as she snuggled into my bare chest.

"Jake!" Sam called as he walked out of the woods, Paul, Jared and Nix at his side.

I looked up at him, and he nodded understandingly.

"Is she okay?"

"She said she was cold." Embry told Sam "She might have hypothermia. We'll need to get her as warm as possible."

"Jake." Sam said. I looked into his eyes and understood his silent order.

I uncoiled my arms from around Bella. She whimpered at the loss of heat as I dissapeared into the forest to phase. As soon as I was staring at my large russet paws, I rushed back to Bella's side and coiled my body around her as best I could. She snuggled into my fur and opened her eyes briefly before closing them again and mumbling something that none of us could catch, except maybe Seth-who was smiling knowingly.

~*~(BPOV)~*~

Jake's warmth left my side, but it was soon replaced by something much warmer and softer. I snuggled into the fuzzy mass lying beside me and slowly opened my eyes to see russet fur.

"Jake…" I mumbled so softly that I wasn't even sure what I said myself. I didn't know why I thought it was him, I just knew it.

My thoughts drifted back to the wolves in my visions before I hit the water, the gray wolf, the sandy wolf, the russet wolf, but mostly the golden wolf.

~*~X~*~

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	17. When Legends Come True

...

AN at the bottom this time.

Disclaimer: I own nothing-I just manipulated Stephanie Meyer's story line to fit in with the OCs and plot that I do own.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 16 When Legends Come True (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

When Bella settled into my side again I let out a sigh, or at least something as close to one as my wolfy body would allow.

"We need to get her back to her house." Sam stated "Jared, go get some blankets from Emily."

"Sure thing boss-man." Jared replied before running into the forest.

I could hear Bella's slowly strengthening heart beat as well as her steady breaths. Her soaked clothes were making my fur wet, but I didn't care-Bella was safe, that's all the mattered.

I only moved from my spot lying next to Bella when Jared came back with an armful of blankets. He draped the blankets over Bella as I went back into the forest to phase back. When I came back, it looked like Bella was in a cocoon. I picked up the bundle of blankets that held my Bella.

"You sure you don't need any help with her Jake?" Seth asked as we started walking back to her truck.

"I'm sure Seth. Why don't you go get the stuff she left at the top of the cliff?"

"Kay." Seth mumbled as he broke away from the rest of us and ran towards the top of the cliff.

"Jake, you Embry, Leah and Seth take Bella back to her house. Go to Emily's as soon as Bella's settled." Sam told us as he, Paul, Jared, and Nix all broke off in the direction of Emily's house.

We met Seth at Bella's truck. Seth and Embry rode in the back while Leah drove and I held Bella.

"How could you disobey Sam's alpha order Jake?" Leah asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had settled over us.

"I don't know Leah…"

"It could be the alpha blood that's in him." Embry suggested.

"But I let _Sam_ be alpha…"

"Just because you denied your position as alpha doesn't mean that you're driving your alpha blood from you Jake." Seth mumbled as we pulled to a halt in front of Bella's house.

"Let's put Bella in her bed. Come on Jake." Leah said as she got out of Bella's truck. I followed soon after. Leah quickly washed Bella and changed her clothes while I jotted a quick note and left it where she would see it.

We all left before Bella could wake up-all of us regretting that we couldn't talk to Bella.

~*~(BPOV)~*~

I woke up to the repetitive sound of dozens of raindrops hitting my window in quick succession. I slowly sat up, pushing the huge pile of blankets from on top of me-I was way too hot. As I did that, a single sheet of paper fell from the bed. I picked it up, unfolded it, and read the letter.

_Dear Bella,_

_-I'm- We're so sorry that we've put you through so much. You have no idea how hard it is for -me- -us- me. I wish that I could tell you everything, but -I'm- we're bound so tightly-you have no idea. I'll try to talk to you as soon as I can. Please don't hate us._

_I miss you too,_

_-Jacob_

"Jake… I've figured it all out, the legends are real-the Cullens are vampires…"

My phone chose then to go off. I checked the caller ID to see that Alice was calling.

"Alice?" I nearly screamed into the mouthpiece.

"Bella? Can you explain to me how you're alive?"

"What?"

"I saw you jump off a cliff. Why would you try to kill yourself? What about Charlie… Jacob…" Alice whispered the last part.

"I wasn't trying to kill myself-I was cliff diving, recreationally. It was fun…"

"I've never met anyone more prone to life-threatening idiocy."

"D-did you tell them?"

"No, they didn't know that I couldn't see your future much further if we left than if we didn't leave."

"Can you see my future now?"

"No, not very clearly. All I can see is Laurent. Bella, you need to get under the protection of the werewolves."

"Werewolves?"

"Never mind. Just stay inside, and call Jake over. Tell him that I'm there."

"But Alice…"

I heard the click of Alice disconnecting the call. I immediately called Jacob.

"Hi this is Jake, please leave a message."

I called Jake about eleven more times after that before I decided to settle for leaving a voicemessage.

"Damit Jake, answer your phone! Alice wants me to tell you that she's here. Alice Cullen, at my house. _My house_ Jake. She's here…" I heard a hard sound on the roof "Good god…" I hung up and called Jake's number again while running down the stairs.

"Bella? What's happening?" Jake answered in a panicked voice.

"Jake, someone's…" was all I got out before I tripped on the last stair and dropped my phone.

The front door was then kicked in, and the dark figure of Laurent appeared in the doorway "Bella."

"Laurent…"

"Bella? Bella! What's happening!" Jake's voice screamed in the earpiece.

"Jake, please come here as fast as you can!" I screamed as Laurent picked up my phone.

"Bella? Where are you?"

"Please do come human. I haven't eaten in weeks." Laurent said into the phone, his rich voice smooth and calm, betraying the frenzy that was evident in his eyes.

"What did you do to Bella!" Jake's voice sounded, before Laurent disconnected the call and gently set my phone on the kitchen counter.

"My dear Bella, I didn't expect to find you here…alone. I went to visit the Cullens, but the house was empty. I'm surprised they left you behind, weren't you sort of a…pet of theirs? Do the Cullens visit often?"

"Yes, all the time. I'll tell them that you came to visit."

"Come walk with me Bella."

Laurent waited for me to stand up, before guiding me outside.

"Why are you here?"

"I came as a favor to Victoria to see if you were still under the protection of the Cullens. Victoria thinks it's only fair to kill you-the Cullen's pet, since you killed her mate-James. An eye for an eye if you will."

"They would know who did it, and they'd come after you."

"I don't think they will. After all, how much could you mean to them if they left you here, unprotected?"

I pulled away from Laurent.

He sighed "Victoria won't be happy about my killing you, but I can't help myself; you're so mouthwatering…"

"Please don't…I mean you…"

Laurent appeared right in front of my face "Sh sh sh, don't be afraid. I'm doing you a kindness. Victoria plans on killing you slowly, where as I'll make it quick…I promise. You will feel nothing."

Time seemed to slow down all around me as Laurent raised his hand. His words sunk into my skull-the Cullens must've never cared about me to leave me behind…What was Alice? What was the friendship we shared? Was all their kindness all false? I started to tremble as Laurent's hand was poised to strike.

"Jake I forgive you…"

A short snap of a stick breaking came from the forest.

"Bella!" I heard Jake's panicked voice call.

I turned my head towards the source of the voice to see Jake running from the woods, towards Laurent and I. "No Jake, run! He'll kill you!"

I watched in shock and amazement as Jake exploded and the russet wolf from my visions was running towards me in his place. There was nothing to judge it's size on in my visions, but now the wolf stood, no Jake stood much taller than me.

"Jake?" I trembled as he started growling at Laurent.

"I don't believe it…" Laurent said in shock and amazement as he shoved me to the ground and started running. Jake took off after Laurent.

Two more wolves emerged from the tree line. One of them had sandy fur-the same one Jake and I saw at the beach. The second had gray fur with black spots. They both met my gaze before taking off after Jake. My trembling got worse when a light gray wolf came from the woods and followed the others.

"J-J-J-Jake is a-a-a…a wolf." I stuttered as the shaking got more violent. A warm heat started radiating from my spine, engulfing my entire body. The warmth grew exponentially hotter as the shaking got increasingly violent. Then I felt something snap in my head, and a sharp pain spread thought my body. I heard my clothes rip to shreds before I released a scream and was staring at gold-furred paws.

_Oh my God. _I thought.

_"Bella?"_ I heard Jake voice in my head.

"Bella?" Embry's voice sounded.

_"Bella?"_ Seth's voice questioned.

_"Bella?"_ Leah's voice asked.

Good God, now I'm hearing voices in my head too… First I have paws, and now I'm hearing Embry, Seth, Leah, and Jake in my head? I must be crazy. Someone wake me up, anyone please pinch me! This must be some sick nightmare!

~*~X~*~

Holy crackers!

Anyway, all will be explained really soon.

Please review.


	18. The Wolf of Gold

Don't ya just love the last chapter?

Anyway, I think that I'll start a fun-fact thing about myself here now, so yeah. Look at the bottom for the funfact. This will probably only either be every other day, twice a week, or once a week.

Disclaimer: Though I wish I had the rights to the Twilight Saga, sadly I don't. That pleasure goes to Stephanie Meyer. I am not-so-perfectly contempt with just owning the supplements to the plot, and my few OCs.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 17 The Wolf of Gold (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

Bella had called me thirteen times, and this was the first time she left a voicemail. I walked outside to see what Bella wanted.

"Damit Jake, answer your phone! Alice wants me to tell you that she's here. Alice Cullen, at my house. _My house_ Jake. She's here…" There was a brief pause "Good god…" The message ended abruptly.

If the Cullens were really at her house, then we would've scented them by now, but the way Bella's voice sounded in that message…

My train of thought was interrupted as Bella called me again. I answered this time. "Bella? What's happening?" I couldn't help but let my panic seep into my voice. Sam was watching me with one of his 'you're in so much trouble' glares.

"Jake, someone's…" Bella responded before I heard the sound of her phone hitting the floor followed by Bella.

I heard a loud bang, which I assumed to be the front door, before a voice laced with a very heavy accent floated faintly through the line "Bella."

Bella's faint reply came next "Laurent…"

"Bella? Bella! What's happening!" I yelled into the phone. By now, the entire pack was watching me, concern evident on all their faces, none more so than my own, Embry's, Seth's and Leah's.

"Jake, please come here as fast as you can!" Bella's voice drifted at her regular volume, but higher in pitch. She must've been screaming.

"Bella? Where are you?" I responded.

"Please do come human. I haven't eaten in weeks." The French accented voice smoothly said through the line, never faltering.

"What did you do to Bella!" I yelled into my phone's mouthpiece, before the call was disconnected.

I dropped my phone to the muddy ground and started shaking.

"Jake, what's wrong with Bella?" Seth asked weakly.

I didn't respond as I started running towards Bella's house, my shorts ripping into shreds as I phased.

"Jacob, **do not** go to Bella's house." I heard Sam try to order, but I ignored him. It didn't help that his order was very weak, almost as if he was conflicted on it himself. He knew as well as everyone else that his orders didn't have as much effect on us while we were in our human forms.

I was able to hear three more ripping sounds as Embry, Seth, and Leah all joined the pack mind.

_"What's wrong with Bella Jake?"_ Seth asked immediately.

I felt Sam's presence join us, but I didn't care.

"Bella's being attacked by a leech!"

_"What?" _All four of them responded at the same time.

_"Is it a Cullen?" _Sam butted in.

"No, Bella knew him, but her voice was laced with so much fear. She knows the Cullens, she trusts them. Her voice wouldn't hold that much fear if it was a Cullen."

Paul, Jared and Nix all joined the pack mind as Embry, Seth, Leah and I were running through the forest towards Bella's house. The closer we got, the clearer we could smell the blood sucker; a sickly sweet mixture of bleach and sugar.

As the scent got stronger and stronger, I was struggling with my inner wolf, trying to stay in control. Eventually the smell got so overpowering that I had to phase back to keep my inner wolf in check. I grabbed a pair of shorts from one of the hollow trees we stashed our extra clothes in case we phase on the fly like we just did. I was running as fast as I could while pulling my shorts on. When I reached the tree line, I saw a leech raising his hand, moving to strike Bella.

"Jake I forgive you…"

I couldn't stand it; my inner wolf couldn't take that damn stench any longer. I shot forward, making a lot of noise.

"No Jake, run! He'll kill you!"

I felt the familiar warmth take over my body as my body exploded into its wolf form. I didn't care if Bella saw me, I didn't want to keep this stupid secret from her any longer-it was tearing her apart from the inside, couldn't Sam see that? I thought that her cliff-diving act was enough for Sam, but it wasn't.

"Jake?" Bella started trembling. I growled at the leech.

"I don't believe it…" the leech said before he shoved Bella to the ground and dashed off.

I took off after him, his scent burning my nose.

Embry and Seth emerged from the forest followed by Leah. I didn't notice the change in Bella's scent as I was chasing the Leech that tried to hurt _my_ Bella.

We all felt another presence join the pack mind-a ninth wolf just phased.

"Oh my God."

We all tripped over our own feet in shock.

_"Bella?"_ Embry, Seth, Leah, and I chorused at the same time.

"Good God, now I'm hearing voices in my head too… First I have paws, and now I'm hearing Embry, Seth, Leah, and Jake in my head? I must be crazy. Someone wake me up, anyone please pinch me! This must be some sick nightmare!"

Forgetting about the vamp, all four of us ran back to Bella. The closer I got, the stronger the scent of Bella's fear got. When I ran back into Bella's yard, I saw Embry, Seth, and Leah huddled around a shaking mass of golden fur that was secreting massive amounts of fear-scent.

_"Bella?" _I hesitantly asked as I padded closer to the mass of fur. A head slowly turned around. Bella's eyes locked on my own, and the wolf immediately stood up and rushed towards me.

_"Jake…" _Bella thought as she rubbed her head against my neck.

I lowered my head so both our heads were level, and she proceeded to rub my face with her own.

"Jake, what's happening to me?"

"I don't know Bella, you shouldn't be one of us-you aren't Quileute."

_"Leave it to me to make friends with vampires and turn into a wolf... Is this why…?"_

_"Yep. Same with Embry, Seth and Leah."_

_"All of them?"_

_"Unfortunately…"_

~*~(BPOV)~*~

_"Hey Bella." _Embry's voice sounded in my head as the gray-black wolf stepped closer to me.

"Embry?"

"Yep."

_"Hi Bella!" _Seth's voice rang in my head as the sandy wolf stepped forward. The wolf looked exactly the same as the wolf Jake and I encountered on the beach.

"Seth?"

"You betcha."

_"Were you that wolf…"_

_"Yep."_

_"Bella…"_ Leah's voice said in my head as the light gray wolf stepped forward.

"Leah?"

_"Yes."_

_"Leah, go get Bella some clothes." _Jake told Leah.

_"Sure thing." _Leah turned back into a human and rushed into my house. I noticed that the boys were all looking away.

_"Y-you're beautiful Bella." _Jake stuttered.

_"I'm not that pretty…"_ I started, before an image of what I looked like flashed through my mind. I was a warm golden color on my legs and chest, while the rest of me was a color someplace between russet and gold.

When Leah came out of the house again, she walked towards Jake, and tucked a pair of shorts and a t-shirt under a black leather band around his hind leg that also restrained a pair of cut-offs.

Once she was satisfied that the clothes wouldn't fall off, Leah turned back into a wolf.

_"It's safe now guys."_ Leah told them, and they all brought their gazes back to me.

_"Come on Bella, Sam'll know what to do."_ Jake said as they all took off running into the woods. I started to run after them, I managed to take three steps before I tripped and fell over air.

"Ouch…"

The four wolves immediately came back, and got to me just as I got back on my feet.

_"I'm still uncoordinated guys…" _I playfully said, and everyone let out a wolfy laugh.

_"Sorry Bella. Usually we get more…graceful when we change." _Jake explained.

_"Oh really?"_ I responded, giving him the most serious glare I could muster.

_"I suppose you're an exception to that trend!" _Seth piped, and they all burst into laughter again.

"It's not funny guys, I mean even Jake says that I shouldn't be a wolf. Not that I'm complaining, I'll finally be able to spend time with you guys again, right?"

_"Of course Bella." _Embry replied.

_"Sam's probably already wondering who the new wolf is, let's get going." _Jake said as we moved through the forest…slowly.

~*~X~*~

Reviews=candy. SSage likes candy. Candy + SSage = Happy SSage. Happy SSage = Bonus Chapters

**Fun-fact #1** I am a guy.


	19. Reunited at Last

Hey everyone, here's the next installment of Call of the Forest!

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns any and all recognizable situations. I do, however hold the rights to the plot supplements and my OCs.

~*~X~*

Call of the Forest 18 Reunited at Last (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

As we were walking through the forest, I was half-heartedly listening to the boy's, and Leah's, chatter about one thing or another. What was really on my mind was what Charlie would think about all of this, and even if I could tell Charlie, and how worried Charlie would be when I didn't come home tonight…

_"Don't worry Bella, everything will work out in the end."_ I heard Embry soothe as he slowed his pace to fall back with be.

"How can you be so sure?"

_"My mom doesn't know that I'm a werewolf, and we won't have to tell your dad either."_

_"But how can you keep something like this a secret?"_

_"My mom just thinks I'm in a 'rebellious' phase. She scolds me every time I come home late, and the pack offered to let her in on the secret, but I refused. This secret is more important than anything."_

_"But how can I explain my disappearances?"_

_"Don't worry-Sam'll give you scattered shifts."_

I looked at Embry, confusion evident in my gaze.

"_You know, an afternoon shift one day, a night shift another, or an early morning shift…"_

"_Oh…"_

"_I'll try to get him to give you the same shift pattern as me, it's hard to keep this from my mom, and I can only imagine that it will be harder to keep from your dad, him being the chief of the La Push police department and all…"_

"_Thanks Em…" _I said as I rubbed my head against his shoulder.

"_N-no prob Bella…" _I could tell that if he could blush in his wolf form, Embry would've been as red as a tomato.

"_What're you two talking about back there?" _Jake asked.

"_N-nothing." _Embry stuttered.

"_It couldn't be nothing if you're stuttering Em."_

"_Can't you just read his mind?" _I asked, confused as to why Jake couldn't already know what we were talking about.

"_Most of us have built a slight mental block, at the very least to protect our most private thoughts, but things can always slip out accidentally."_ Leah explained, cutting through Jake's teasing of Embry.

"_So what about me?"_

"_You're like an open book Bella."_ Seth thought _"We can read your whole mind if we wanted to."_

"_Wanted to?"_

"_Yeah, when a new wolf phases, we know that they don't have the small mental barrier that we have, so we don't dig around in their heads out of respect for their thoughts…"_

"_But Sam can get around our mental blocks, since he's the alpha." _Leah continued.

"_Actually…" _Jake started _"I can't read Bella's mind at all, other than what she's saying, her mind is completely blocked."_

"_How can she have such a strong barrier up so soon after phasing?"_

"_Another thing to ask Sam about…"_

"_What else do you have to ask Sam about?" _A much deeper voice spoke with authority.

"_Well Sam, first Bella phased." _Jake started.

"_Second we were wondering if Bella could have the same patrol pattern as me." _Embry continued.

"_Third, Bella has a complete mental block." _Leah added.

"_Lastly, what would we tell Charlie about these days where Bella will be stuck like this?" _Seth finished.

"_How much longer until you get back here?"_ the voice asked.

"_At our pace, fifteen minutes."_ Jake responded.

"_I'll talk to you when you get here." _The presence left.

"_Who was that?"_

"_Sam-our alpha." _Jake answered.

"_At least until Jake takes over." _Embry cut in.

"_I don't want to be alpha Embry-I didn't even want to be a wolf, let alone our leader."_

"_Come on, you know it's your destiny…"_

"_No."_

The rest of the way to wherever we were going was filled with ridiculous stories about how I could phase.

"_What if Bella was really a Quileute, but they did tests on her to try and steal our gene?" _Seth suggested.

"_Sure, and maybe she's from another pack of werewolves." _Leah retorted sarcastically.

"_Will you guys just shut up? We're almost at Sam and Emily's." _Jake snapped.

"_Bella, just keep going straight. You'll reach their house soon enough."_

"_What about you guys?"_

"_We have to change back you know. I don't think that you would like to see us naked, or would you?" _Seth asked seductively.

"_Seth!" _Leah scolded.

"_I'm sorry!" _Seth yelped as his sandy form took off into the woods, Leah's light gray form in hot pursuit.

"_Leah's the fastest out of all of us." _Embry whispered, kinda.

"_Hey, I'm catching up to her." _Jake cut in.

"_Sure you are Black." _Another voice interrupted.

"_You know its true Jared." _Jake retorted.

"_Whatever floats your boat." _Jared responded _"Who's the newbie?"_

"_Bella."_

"_The vampire girl? Yeesh, it's a surprise she didn't phase while she was with them."_

"_I know…"_

"_When are we going to get moving?"_ I asked.

"_Uh, now." _Jake responded before his russet form started moving away from me. Embry was already gone. _"Please don't torment her Jared, she's been through enough as it is."_

"_I'll say. If it was bad enough to jump off a cliff…"_

"_Jared!"_

"_Okay okay. Sheesh, just making some connections here."_

"_Just please don't bug her about it…" _Jake thought before I felt his presence leave my mind.

I just stayed where I was, and waited for Jake, Embry, Seth and Leah, if Seth is still alive that is.

~*~X~*~

I. Like. Candy. (Reviews=Candy)

So I'm doing the funfact thing twice this week to start us off, then it will only be on every Thursday update.

**Funfact #2**I am the only person in my group of friends who likes Twilight-even the girls abhor it.


	20. Welcome to the Pack

Sorry this update was so late!

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the supplements to the plot. Everything else is rightfully Stephanie Meyer's

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 19 Welcome to the Pack (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

Jake, Embry, Leah, and Seth all came back fairly quickly, Leah and Seth swatting at each other playfully. Jake was carrying my clothes under his arm. When I looked up at him, he met my gaze with his infectious smile. I couldn't help but give him a wolfy smile in return.

"Come on Bella, we're already late." Jake said, walking ahead of me.

I followed after him, my sensitive nose quickly picking out his scent-he smelled of the earth and another natural scent…maybe cedar? I really don't know. All I do know is that he smelled _good_.

"_So you like the way Jake smells huh?" _Jared's voice questioned.

I jumped, before realizing that he was talking through the telepathic bond _"So what if I do?"_

"_Nothing…"_

Eventually we broke into a clearing that contained a house with wood siding. There were barrels filled with various flowers in full bloom, as well as multiple flowerpots, on the wooden porch that was protected by an overhanging roof covered in pine needles. A simple sliding glass door appeared to be the main entrance into the cozy home.

Three boys, all with dark skin, ran out of the open glass door. Each of them wasn't dressed any better than Jake, Embry and Seth-just a pair of cutoff shorts. Leah was wearing a t-shirt and shorts.

"So who's the new wolf?" one of them asked.

"Bella Swan." Jake responded.

"Bella?" another one questioned. I recognized him from somewhere…Nix! He was Nix.

"I'm glad you don't have to keep the secret from her anymore Jake, but like this?" Again, I recognized this person-Quil.

"This is the vampire girl?" A femine voice asked as a woman walked out of the house. She had the same dark skin as everyone else, and her black hair extended just beyond her shoulders. Three lines marred her otherwise perfect face-three deep scars that ran the entire length of the right side of her face. As soon as she had gotten around the solid wall of russet muscle that was the three boys, she gasped as soon as her eyes settled on my coat. "You're coat is so beautiful! Much nicer than any of the guy's fur."

All of the guys huffed. I noticed a change in Leah when this girl walked out-she went rigid and a scowl spread across her face, almost as if it pained her to be in this girl's presence.

"So this is the new wolf." The same authorative voice from before said. Another man walked from the house, however unlike the others, he held himself higher, almost as if any of them needed a reminder that he was in charge.

"That's Sam." Jake whispered.

"Don't we get introductions too?" The woman asked.

"Of course" Jake said "That's Emily, Paul, Nix, and Quil." Jake motioned to everyone in turn.

Sam stepped in front of the other boys "Welcome to the pack Bella."

I nodded, and turned my head towards Jake.

"Do you have another leather band for Bella?" Embry asked.

"Yep." Emily responded "Just give me a sec." Emily ran into the house, and came out with a black leather braid.

She walked over to one of my hind legs, and I watched her tie the strip around one of my legs, before extending a hand towards Jake, who gave her my clothes. I watched Emily carefully tuck my shirt and shorts under the leather band.

"Can I pet you?"

I was blown away by the question that seemed to come out of nowhere. I looked up at Jake, pleading that he could give me an answer. Jake just shrugged. Things were going through my head at a mile a minute, and I shook my head to clear the thoughts.

"Oh…okay…" Emily said sadly as she started back towards Sam.

"I'm sure she just has a lot on her mind now Emily" Jake quickly defended me "Maybe later, right Bella?"

I nodded my head vigorously.

"Okay." Emily responded.

"So what's this I hear about Bella having a complete mental barrier?" Sam asked.

"Just try to read her mind Sam" Embry told Sam "We can't pick up anything except what she says."

"Please excuse me for a second." Sam said as he ran into the woods. A few moments later, a pure black wolf walked back out from where Sam had left. _"Are you okay with me trying to read your mind Bella?"_

"_I don't mind. Besides, you won't find anything too bad…"_

"_If your okay with this…Nothing, I can't see anything in your mind. This is very unusual."_

"_Leave it to me to always be the unusual one…"_

"_Can you phase back yet?"_

"_What?"_

"_Um…think about something that makes you feel warm inside, but go into the woods before you try, unless you don't mind everyone seeing you…"_

"_Uh thanks Sam…I think?"_

"_Don't mention it. As the alpha it's my duty to take care of all of the members of the pack."_

I trotted into the forest, but not before accidentally brushing against Jake's hand. A shiver ran through my whole body.

Once I was under the protective covering of the trees and underbrush, I let images of Jake seep into my mind-of the times when we were little kids playing in the mud on First Beach, of the way he looks now…

I found myself standing as bare as the day I was born in the forest. Now I see why Sam said I should've gone into the forest to phase back. I took my shirt from under the leather band and slid it over my head. Then I slid the shorts from their place under the leather band and slid them on too.

I felt something vibrate in my pocket, and I pulled out my cell phone. I checked to see that I had like fifty missed calls from Alice. I ignored her call for now, and jogged back to the clearing.

As soon as I broke the tree line, everyone's heads turned toward me.

"What?"

"Bella!" Jake exclaimed, running towards me and embracing me in a bear hug that vaguely reminded me of Emmett's hugs.

I met Sam's gaze and nodded. I was thankful that he suggested I go into the woods to phase back.

He nodded back before going back into the house with Emily.

As soon as Emily left, Leah's scowl faded a little as she, Embry, and Seth all gathered around me.

"We're so sorry Bella, we knew how much it killed you that we weren't there, but this damn secret…" Embry started.

"I know, and I forgive you all…"

My phone started vibrating then. I pulled it out again to see that I had a text from Alice. _If you're not dead then call me! It's really important Bella!_

I sighed and dialed Alice's number. No matter how much I didn't want to call Alice, I knew I had to, if for nothing else than because we're friends.

~*~X~*~

REVIEWS ARE MY CANDY!


	21. Answers

So people, I am taking this week off writing Call of the forest in favor of writing my one-shot for the twilight anonymous one-shot contest (located here: ficcontest{dot}info)

Anyway, I have all of the chapters for this week edited, but there are no more edited chapters after chapter 23-only raw text, so there may not be a Monday update next week.

I hope you understand-I really need to get this one-shot written and sent off to my BETA ASAP.

Also, this chapter is going up early as an experiment. Don't get used to it.

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns every single recognizable character and event. Those of which you don't recognize are mine, and I hold the rights to them.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 20 Answers (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

The phone rang once before Alice answered.

"Bella?"

"Alice what's…?" Everyone glared at me.

"Bella, your future just disappeared, I can't see you anymore. Care to explain what happened?"

"Uh…I'm a werewolf?"

"WHAT! How could you be one of those dogs? You even said yourself that you weren't Quileute…"

I heard some mumbling on the other line.

"Carlisle wants to talk to you."

"Hello Bella." Carlisle's voice floated through the line.

"Hi Carlisle."

"Alice tells me that you're a werewolf, do you have any idea how this is possible?"

"No. The pack also apparently can't read my mind either…"

"Hm…we'll be back in Forks tomorrow with a few family members to discuss your…situation."

"Okay?"

"Well, I think I know one possible explanation, but when I return I'll need a blood sample from you and each of the boys that were in the blood transfusion with you."

"Embry, Seth and Jake? I'm sure they will help, but the pack might not…"

"Bella, there's something else that I need to tell you." Alice said, apparently taking the phone back. Alice continued after a long pause, realizing that I was waiting for an answer "I'll tell you when we can meet in a place that's more…private…"

"See you soon?"

"Yeah…"

"Bye Alice." I hung up.

"The Cullens are coming back here?" Jake exclaimed.

"Jake, Carlisle said he might be able to figure out why I've phased…"

"But he needs our blood to do so!"

"Have you forgotten that Carlisle works at hospitals Jake? He won't hurt us."

"But their 'family' might!"

"Is one of them a redhead?"

"V-Victoria's here?"

"Who's Victoria?" Seth asked.

"Victoria is a vampire that's trying to kill me…"

"Is she a redhead?"

"Yeah, why?"

"She's been skirting the border for the past few months now. We keep chasing her away but she keeps coming back. We didn't know what she's after… at least now we know what she's after." Jake said.

"But I bet she doesn't know that Bella's a werewolf now!" Seth said jokingly.

"That could actually be used to our advantage…" Sam mused, coming back out of the house, alone. "Bella, you start patrols next week with the same pattern as Embry until you get used to our life, then I'll rework the pattern…again…"

"Thanks Sam." I replied.

"No problem. Now Leah, show Bella around the territory and everyone else get on patrol; I don't want that leech anywhere on our lands."

The day went by smoothly. Leah and I put a change of my clothes in all of their hiding places, and she gave me a through tour of the territory.

That night I was out like a light.

I woke up to the sound of my phone going off. I checked the caller ID to see that Alice was calling.

"Whadoyawan?" I slurred.

"Bella, we're here. Carlisle wants you guys here now."

"Kay." I said as I hung up and texted Jake, Embry and Seth.

I ran into the woods and phased. As I started to run, I sensed Jake's, Embry's, and Seth's presences join my own.

"_Hey guys."_

"_Let's just get this over with…" _

I reached the Cullen's house first. I phased into my human form and jogged into their driveway. The smell of bleach and sugar immediately assaulted my nose.

"Bella!" I heard Emmett cry as I was swept into one of Emmett's bear hugs.

Leah told me that we maintain a high body temperature, about 108.9 degrees, but when Emmett touched me I could feel the difference in our body temperatures.

"Geez Bella, you're burning up…"

"That's because she's a werewolf Emmett." Alice stated as she walked out of the Cullen's house, Esme and Carlisle not far behind.

"Please tell me that it's not true Bella…" Emmett said, looking at me with big, hopeful eyes.

It broke my heart that I would have to tell Emmett this, but I knew it had to be done. "It's true Emmett."

Emmett released me and inhaled a huge breath. "You don't smell like one of them Bella…"

"Yes she does Emmett." Alice snapped "She smells like one of the mutts. The only reason why you can't smell the stench is because you're trying too hard to smell Bella's human scent."

"It doesn't matter what you are Bella, you're always part of this family to me." Esme said smiling. Carlisle nodded. "Can we see what your wolf form looks like, so we won't mistake you for the other wolves when you came to see us?"

"When I leave, okay Esme?"

"Sure honey."

"Where are the others?" Carlisle asked.

"Right here." Jake answered as he, Embry and Seth walked out of the woods, stopping next to me.

"Please, come into my office. I already have everything set up."

We all followed Carlisle into his office, and he took a small amount of blood from each of us, and let us wander the house while he did his tests. Though we could've settled in the living room, we all ended up in the balcony, letting the semi-fresh air calm us.

"I wonder what Dr. Fang is doing with our blood…" Embry thought out loud.

"I don't know." I replied.

"I wonder if he's figuring out what lets us transform so they can get rid of us…" Seth suggested.

"Carlisle would never do that. He's just trying to help us figure out why I've phased."

We heard footsteps coming from behind us. We turned to see Carlisle walking towards us.

"I have figured out a few things about you wolves that may interest you."

We all focused on Carlisle.

"First, you all have twenty-four chromosomes…"

"So we have one more chromosome than normal humans…" Embry muttered.

"That is correct, and we can assume that the extra chromosome is what allows you to transform. Now Bella also has twenty-four chromosomes, but her extra chromosome is very different from all of yours. Her extra chromosome looks like all three of yours combined."

"How is that possible?" Embry asked.

"Well if you remember when Bella had the blood transfusion, and you all were the donors? Well I think that the combination of your three genes somehow created a unique gene for Bella that is similar to all three of your genes. Apparently the presence of the extra gene in your blood, which was in abundance in Bella's body at the time, caused her body to develop it's own version of the gene as Bella healed, taking data from all three of the different genes that were present in her blood."

"So when we gave her our blood we gave her our extra chromosome?" Embry asked.

"Simply, yes. Her body developed the extra chromosome because most of the blood in her body at the time had the extra chromosome."

"Then how could Bella phase back so soon after she first phased?" Seth asked.

"Yeah, the only one of us who phased back sooner was Jake, and that's because he has alpha blood in him." Embry continued.

"I would say that that is due to a third of the gene being created from Jacob's extra chromosome. It also could be attributed to the gene recognizing that it's originators have already phased." Carlisle explained.

"What about the fact that the rest of the pack can't hear my thoughts?" I asked.

"One of our cousins, Eleazar, can help you figure out why the pack can't hear your thoughts Bella." Carlisle said as a man of medium build and black hair walked down the stairs. His eyes were the same gold color as the rest of the Cullens. "Eleazar's gift allows him to identify other people's gifts."

"Greetings." Eleazar said, his voice laced with a Spanish accent "If I may?" He extended his hand towards me.

I hesitated.

"Normally I can identify gifts from a short distance, but I am having quite a difficult time sensing yours Bella. I believe that the physical contact will help immensely." I hesitantly set my hand in his, and he placed his other hand on top of mine. "It appears that you have a mental shield."

"How can you tell, and what does that even mean?"

"I can't be certain that your gift is in fact a mental shield, as something is blocking my gift as well, but it appears that you do in fact possess a mental shield. A mental shield can block any gift that involves the mind, such as Edward's ability to read minds. I'm most nearly positive that you could lift the shield if you wanted to, or spread it to others."

~*~X~*~

I would like to take this time to give thanks to all of my reviewers: crazybread, BritRBP, Matthias Stromcrow, Jeri252, Laladots 14, Noini, Orange Lamb, Im The Nights Shadow, Twilightgirl67386, Nbrian72, rachLA, crimsonXeclipse, and of course my BETA-Elison.

You all should know that it's your comments that make me continue to post this story (and the fact it gets 300+ hits every day except Sunday).

I would like to especially shout-out to Matthias Stormcrow, who has reviewed every single chapter!

You know that think I said about bonus chapters? If I get at least **ten **reviews for one chapter, then I'll write an outtake for a previous chapter... SO GET REVIEWING!

I know some people would be bothered by the low review to hit ratio, but I'm more bothered by the fact that the people who have favorited this story or put it on story alert aren't reviewing. It's like a kick in the gut-you liked my story enough to want to know when it gets updated, yet you can't even be bothered to leave a review?

So now that my little rant is over (seriously, that just flowed right outta me...) let's end this with my habitual phrase(s)...

Reviews are candy. SSage likes candy. I WANT CANDY!


	22. A Second Home

I know that I said the early morning update was a one-time thing, but I got over 600 hits-much better than the average day, so this is here to stay.

Disclaimer: I only own that which is not recognizable. All that is belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 21 A Second Home (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

"_So where're we going?" _Bella asked me for like the millionth time during this run.

"_I told you it's a secret."_

"_You know that I can read your mind Jake, right?"_

"_Yeah. I thought you'd try that…"_

"_What's up with this Jake, I can't see anything about where we're going…"_

"_That's because I've put it behind the barricade that I have."_

"_So what did you push out to make room?"_

"_I'm not telling."_

"_You're so mean."_

"_But you still love me."_

"_Yes I do but…"_ Bella paused, realizing what she said. I knew I had a smug wolfy grin adorn in my face. _"No Jake, I didn't…"_

"_So you don't love me? I'm wounded Bella…"_

"_I mean you're like a brother to me and so are Embry and Seth…"_

"_What about the rest of us Bella?" _Jared asked, phasing into the pack mind _"We're all related…"_

"_Yeah, very distantly." _Bella retorted.

"_Being part of this pack is like being part of a brotherhood Bella-we don't have to be closely related to be brothers, I mean look at you-you're our pack sister and you don't even have any Quileute blood…"_

"_Jared, will you get off her?"_ I snapped _"Why did you phase in the first place?"_

"_We wanted to know how much longer it will be until you guys get to the cabin…"_

"_We're going to a cabin?"_

"_Thanks a lot Jared. Ruin the surprise."_

"_You're welcome Jake." _Jared piped before his presence disappeared.

"_We're going to a cabin Jake? I should've packed something…"_

"_We're not staying there Bella-we can't."_

"_Why can't we Jake?"_

"_We're renovating it."_

"_You guys are renovating a cabin?"_

"_It's more of a lodge-there's a room for each of us, and when we're done with the renovations we're all going to stay there."_

"_What about our parents? How will we convince them to…"_

"_Most of our parents already know-my dad is the chief, and Sue is on the council, as is Old Quil. Jared, Paul, and Sam all live on their own, and Nix's mom will be happy to get Nix away from his father, who is ecstatic about Nix being a wolf."_

"_What about me and Embry?"_

"_Embry's living with his mother half the time, and you can figure out a pattern that will work for you."_

"_So you guys are going to live there?"_

"_You should see the place though-it was built for us werewolves."_

"_How is that possible…?"_

"_It was built by werewolves for werewolves."_

"_So how much longer until we get to the lodge chief?"_

"_Chief? Where did that come from?"_

"_Well you are going to be alpha someday…"_

"_Bella, I didn't even want to be in a pack, let alone be it's leader."_

"_How much longer."_

"_We're here." _I said as we pushed through the green undergrowth _"Welcome to Moon Howl lodge Bella."_

I watched Bella's eyes grow to the size of dinner plates as she took in the natural brown of the cedar on the outside of the inward facing wall. I lead her around to the opposite side of the cabin, where the red-brown of the cedar gave way to the pearl sheen of the overexposed cedar of the seaward wall. There were eight balconies protruding from the wall. The lodge was built into the side of a slight hill, so that the inward side looked like a two-story lodge, while the seaward side looked like a three-story mansion. A large, dark stained hickory storage shed was tucked into the woods, a much lighter smaller hickory one attached to the side of the cabin. Even though the wall faced the sea, there was still a good distance between the lodge and the cliffs that faced the sea. There were many oddly shaped garden boxes filled with weeds arranged in a circular arrangement, though none of us could tell what the arrangement was supposed to look like. Nothing else marred the uneven backyard. We walked towards the cliffs, and I heard Bella take in a sharp breath as the cool sea breeze blew through her golden fur. We had a perfect view of some island in the distance. During low tide, a pattern of rocks could be seen on the beach, and again we couldn't identify just what exactly it was supposed to mean.

Bella leaned into me as the breeze blew again. _"This place is beautiful Jake…"_

"_I know Bella, that's why I…"_

"You guys done yet?" I heard Jared call from behind us.

I turned around to see the whole of the pack looking at the exchange between me and Bella. The only people absent were Sam and Paul, who were off on patrol.

"_They always come at the worst times…"_

"_Come on Jake, we should phase back now." _She moved away from me, and as I looked at her, I felt her tongue sweep across my cheek.

I heard the guys giving wolf-whistles and 'Awww's, but I couldn't focus on them-I was floating somewhere between happiness and bliss. I was so out of it that I didn't realize that Bella had already left. It wasn't until I heard Bella walk back into the clearing that I came out of my daze.

"Yuck!" Bella said while rubbing her tongue, and spitting "I'm never doing that again. Too much hair…"

Everyone looked at her and laughed. I felt a growl build in my throat as I turned to face the laughing hyenas that were my pack mates. They all turned back towards me, their expressions fearful.

"Jake, what's wrong with you? We were just joking around…" Quil started, but he was interrupted by another snarl from me.

"Calm down Jake." Bella soothed.

Her melodious voice calmed me down a little, but my wolf was still trying to tear the others apart for laughing at Bella-at my family. I was fighting with my wolf to keep from doing something I would regret. Another growl left my throat.

"Jacob." Bella ran towards me.

"Bella stay away from him" Embry told her "He's not in complete control of his wolf!"

"It's your faults that he's like this in the first place!" She paused next to me before wrapping her arms around my neck. A soft rumbling left my throat as she rubbed her face in my fur "Your fur is so soft Jake…"

I heard the guys start to walk away, and I felt Bella's grip tighten suddenly, her face nuzzled in the crook of my neck. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer to me.

I whimpered when she broke the embrace "What's wrong Bella?"

"Get dressed." She said as she placed a quick kiss on my cheek before running towards the glass door that the guys had left open in the wall of the lodge.

I stood there as still as a statue-Bella kissed me twice.

"Come on Jake, you still need to give me a tour of the inside!" Bella called from inside the building.

It took me a minute to remember that I was still stark naked, before I pulled my shorts on, tucking the leather chord into one of my pockets.

As soon as I jogged through the open glass door, I saw Bella taking in the rec room in awe. I couldn't blame her-all of us were mesmerized by every part of the house when Billy gave us the key last month, when he, Sue, and Emily all got fed up with having absolutely no food in their houses.

The rec room's walls were covered with a very light maple, only having been given a once over with a sealant, while the eight-foot high ceiling was covered in a deep cherry. There were a few planks of untreated cedar in places, giving the room a nice woodsy smell. The floor was a nice white oak. Tan sofas and love seats were arranged in the middle, a large mahogany table in the middle. There were like four different rooms branching off from the main room, three of which contained a TV. In each room was a three-person couch and a coffee table in the same tones of the main room. The fourth room lead to a small theater-like area, where we could all watch projected movies in stadium seats.

"Bella?" asked, waving my hand in front of her face.

"Hm? What Jake?" she asked, snapping out of her trance.

"Let's go upstairs."

"Okay."

Her eyes flew open again as we started up the white oak stairs, as the white oak was eventually tiled with birch. Her eyes widened even more as she took in the sight of the maple walls transitioning into tiger wood. When we were on the landing, I had to snap Bella out of her trance again.

"Bella?"

"What Jake?"

"You zoned out again."

"Oh…"

I moved out of her line of vision, allowing her to look into the open living room. The floors were solid birch, and the walls were solid tiger wood. The ceiling was instead covered in rosewood. The living room flowed into the kitchen, the only barrier between the two being an island that was wrapped around a thick supporting post. The living room was furnished mainly with dark brown sofas and chairs, with teak tables scattered thought the room. As with the rec room, there were untreated cedar planks scattered about the walls here as well Bella wandered into the much brighter kitchen, which was much larger than she was apparently used to. The countertops were covered in a green and black marble, while all the cabinets were a dark walnut. She opened one cabinet and stared at how deep they went. Both Embry and Seth could easily fit in one cabinet, Leah too if we squeezed them in. The sink contrasted the most, it being a dark silver. Bella opened an upper cabinet to see tons of crystal glasses and white plates. I pulled one of the drawers open to reveal antique silverware, at least three sets of the same design. It would take a lot of polishing, but we could eventually get them back to their original shine.

I lead Bella down a hallway, past maple doors that had name tags hanging off little hooks. I paused at the second door, and turned her head so that the nameplate was in her view.

She gasped as she read her name. "I couldn't Jake, I mean you guys have done all the work and…"

"Bella, you're one of the pack now, and this building was built for us. You deserve a room here as much as any one of us does."

She hesitantly wrapped her hand around the dull gold door knob and pushed the door open. She gasped at the sight she saw. All of the bedrooms had a different wood, and that wood was used thought the entire room. Bella's room was the maple room. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all solid maple, save for the few untreated cedar tiles that were scattered sparsely about the walls and ceiling. Her bed was a simple maple bed frame containing a queen sized mattress. Forest green sheets were stretched across the bed, and gold pillows that matched the color of her fur rested at the head of the bed. A howling wolf colored the same gold as her pillows was centered on the sheets. The headboard was adorn with hand carved designs of wolves, the tribal tattoo centered perfectly on the headboard. The closet was much bigger that the one at her house-it could almost be considered a walk-in closet with how large it was. She was out the sliding glass doors after taking in the other furnishings of the room-a table, a few chairs, a bedside table with a lamp, another table tucked in the corner that held a carving of a wolf howling, and a small dresser. I joined her on the deck, to find her staring at something. I followed her line of sight to the garden boxes. Bella shifted her gaze to the tattoo on my right arm before refocusing on the garden boxes.

"What's with that look Bella?"

"Look at the garden boxes Jake."

I looked at the garden boxes again "I don't see anything."

"You dolt. They look like that tattoo you guys all have."

I looked at the design closer. I could make out the shape of the two wolves, and the other markings that made the tattoo that we all have.

~*~X~*~

Reviews=candy SSage LOVES candy!


	23. A Second Family

Hey everyone!

I'm progressing well on my oneshot, so given that everything goes as planned, you should still get a chapter on Monday

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns everything recognizable, everything else belongs to me.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 22 A Second Family (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

How could the guys not see that sooner? Are they really that unobservant that they can't see the finer details of this lodge that they're 'renovating'.

"For this being a renovation project, there sure isn't a whole lot of renovating going on Jake."

"Everyone is probably in their own rooms, finishing renovating them. We've already finished the renovations on the rest of the building, and after our rooms, there's only stocking the kitchen and polishing the silverware left."

"If everyone else is renovating their own rooms, then why isn't there anything for me to do in here?"

"Um, well I uh…I did all the renovations in here as soon as you phased. There wasn't that much to do really-just a little electrical work and some housekeeping…"

From out of nowhere, a picture of Jacob in a French maid's dress, duster in hand. I laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing!" I laughed as I made a beeline for the door.

"Come on Bells, you can tell me!" I felt Jake's hands wrap around me and pick me up, leaving my feet dangling a few inches off the floor.

"It really was nothing Jacob!" I squeaked.

"Oh really? Then why are you blushing?"

"Jacob!" I squealed as Jake started tickling me.

I heard a knock at the door "What on Earth are you doing to her Jake?" Emily's voice asked.

"Nothing!" We both responded.

"I know something's up now. Otherwise you two wouldn't say anything in sync."

Jake quickly released his grip round me as the door knob slowly turned. The knob stopped turning, and snapped back into place as Emily called something else.

"I got polish for the silverware, and food for the fridge and pantry. If you two want to eat tonight, then you'd better help out!"

Jake went rigid as soon as Emily threatened taking away his food.

I looked at his expression. It took everything I had to keep from cracking up "Go help Emily clean the silverware Jake. I can handle myself perfectly fine."

"Are you sure about that? After all, I distinctly remember you being like the only person alive who can trip over air…"

"I'm not _that_ clumsy Jake…"

"Well you have to be _that_ clumsy to still be able to trip over nothing, _and _be a werewolf."

"Go help with the silverware Jake." I told him, trying to push him. I was actually making good progress on making him move, before he took a huge step forward resulting in me falling flat on my face. "Jacob…"

"See ya Bells!" Jake called as he hurried out of my room.

I sat up as Jake shut my door before running down the hallway towards the living room.

"Thanks a lot Jake." I muttered as I slowly lifted myself off the ground.

"What did he do to you Bella?" Emily asked as soon as I walked into the living room-kitchen thing.

"I fell."

The boys sitting on the couches polishing the silverware snorted. When I sent a menacing glare their way, they all focused their attention on the piece of silverware in their hands like it was the most interesting thing in the universe.

"Are you okay Bella?"

"Yeah. I can help you with the groceries, or cooking…"

"That would be great. Besides, I have to go out and buy more food anyway. Organize everything the way you would like-you'll probably be here more than I will anyway."

"Kay. Bye Emily!" I called as Emily walked out the open front door.

I unpacked everything and organized it on the island, before starting to put stuff in cabinets. I put the spices, herbs, and seasonings in one cupboard, and the canned stuff in another. I organized the meats and fresh vegetables in the fridge, before raking my brain to figure out what I could make with what Emily bought so far.

Somehow, there was enough there to make spaghetti and meatballs. I started the spaghetti, and started mixing the ground beef, pork, and chicken together along with a few spices and herbs. After adding lemon juice, I formed rather large balls of the mixture before putting them in the oven.

By the time Emily made her third trip to the store and back, everything was done. I strained the pasta, and poured in the white sauce that I had Emily buy. I pulled out eleven bowls, and piled the noodles in them. I put three meatballs in each of the bowls, and by that time all of the guys were piling around me. Emily was brandishing a wooden spoon, smacking any unfortunate hands that strayed too close to the food, resulting in a painful-sounding snap.

"Did you guys finish polishing the silver?" Emily asked once I was done plating everything.

The guys all nodded vigorously as they parted, revealing the shining silverware sitting on the counter.

"Rinse off what you're going to use." Emily ordered, and the guys all ran to grab what they could before running to one of the five bathrooms in the lodge. Apparently there was one downstairs, two on this floor, and two on the third floor. "Here." Emily said as she handed me a fork and a knife that she rinsed off in the kitchen sink.

"Thanks." I responded as I took a bowl and sat at one of the stools on the island. Emily settled next to me.

"This silverware is so beautiful…" She mumbled as she stared at the handle of the fork she was holding.

I stared at the handle of the fork I was holding. She was right-the handle depicted a howling wolf. I looked at the knife's handle to see a wolf was running on the end. "Everything here has something to do with wolves doesn't it?"

"Why do you think this lodge is called Moon Howl Lodge Bella? This place was built by the wolves long ago for the wolves of the future. Why else would the ceilings be so high?"

"Hey, why did you get to use the kitchen sink?" Quil whined as he ran in from one of the bathrooms, silverware in hand.

"You guys could've fought over the sink too, but instead you all ran off to one of the bathrooms." Emily responded.

Everyone else started swarming in from the various locations around the house, and Sam and Paul walked in about ten minutes after everyone else started eating. Emily had to brandish her wooden spoon again to keep the guys from eating Sam and Paul's food. I'm surprised that that spoon hasn't broken yet, with how many times she's hit their hands and how hard she hits them…

"This is great Emily!" Paul shouted after taking his first bite.

"I didn't make anything this time Paul." Emily started, and the majority of the pack was torn from their food to stare at Emily in shock. Nix was the only one who didn't look up-he was chewing on part of a meatball, apparently pondering the secrets of the universe. "You guys really are unobservant. I was out all day buying groceries. Bella made everything."

Everyone's gaze shifted from Emily to me. I started to feel uncomfortable under their many gazes.

"It's so obvious that Emily didn't cook this." Everyone's gazes then shifted to Nix. "Emily focuses mainly on quantity, overlooking the finer tuning of the spices and herbs that these meatballs have. Emily would've just used beef in them, but I can tell that at least three different types of meat were used in these…"

It was so silent that you could have heard a pin drop into the ocean.

"How do you know so much Nix?" Seth finally broke the silence as it was starting to turn uncomfortable.

"I thought you guys knew I wanted a career in culinary arts before all this happened." He shrugged "I can't identify the herbs and spices, or the meats for that matter, but anyone decent in the culinary arts should be able to identify at least some of the ingredients…"

We all fell into an uncomfortable silence again, before Jared broke the tension "Anyways…good job Bella!"

Murmurs of agreement cycled through the rest of the guys before they all went back to eating.

"So what _did_ you put in the meatballs Bella?" Emily asked.

"Beef, pork, chicken, marjoram I think…uh…"

"You don't even know?"

"I just threw in what smelled good at the time…"

"I wish I had a sensitive nose…"

"Trust me Emily, you wouldn't want to be one of us."

"Having eight boys in your head must be really fun…"

"Sure is…" I jumped as a pair of arms snaked around my waist. "Jake…"

"What Bella?" he asked as he rested his head on top of mine.

"What do you want now?"

"I want to show you my room now."

"Does it have to be now Jake? I'm having a good time talking with Emily."

"I have to patrol soon Bells…"

"It's okay Bella." Emily said standing up "We'll just talk again some other time." She shot me a wink.

"Fine Jake, but only because you have to patrol…" I squeaked as Jake swept me into his arms. "I can walk just fine you know…"

"Says the person who trips on air."

I playfully slapped his bare chest. "Come on Jake, let me go!"

"Nope." he responded with his contagious smile plastered on his face. I heard everyone else start laughing as Jake carried me down the hallway towards his room.

He carried me up the stairs to the third floor, before pausing in front of a tiger wood door. He twisted the dull gold door knob and pushed the door open. Jake's room was almost a carbon copy of mine-the only difference was that everything was made and covered with tiger wood instead of white maple, and a few things were in different places, but other than that they were the same. His closet was smaller of course, and his bed was king-sized. Jake's sheets were also a dark green, but the howling wolf was the same russet color as his fur as were his pillows. His room almost seemed rustic compared to my bright room.

"Nice right?"

"It looks almost like mine…"

"That's because it was easier to make multiple pieces of the same furniture, the only difference being the type of wood the pieces are made out of."

"What about the sheets and pillows? They all match your fur perfectly…"

"We actually had those custom made for every one of us." I started to open my mouth, but Jake cut in before I had a chance to speak "The elders insisted we have something that's unique to us in here-they paid for all of the custom work."

"Hey Jake, Bella! Come on down-You should see this!" Seth's voice rang out.

"Let's go Jake." I dragged Jacob out the door and down the stairs, then down to the rec room to se what Seth wanted. We saw everyone piled into one of the rooms. As we entered the room, our eyes fell on the news report that was playing on the TV.

"Seattle is in a state of terror as the mysterious disappearances continue. These more recent reports indicate that the number of people missing has risen to fifteen, and the number of missing person reports keeps on rising. The first reported incident was just over three months ago when Forks native Riley Biers went missing after leaving his dorm one night."

"Call the Cullens." Sam ordered, his eyes still glued to the screen.

I pushed my way past the guys and into the main room before going outside and dialing Emmett's number, knowing that Alice probably hated me now.

"Please Emmett, pick-up…"

"Bella? What's wrong?"

~*~X~*~

Reviews are my candy


	24. When Death Comes Knocking

This story will be delayed, as chapters 24 and beyond are still raw text.

I meant to post this chapter yesterday, but wouldn't let me log in!

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the supplements to the plot. Everything else is the property of Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 23 When Death Comes Knocking (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

"Hey Emmett, do you guys know anything about the disappearances going on in in Seattle?"

"Um, let me give you to Carlisle Bella…" Emmett mumbled before I heard some shuffling in the background.

"We've been tracking the situation in Seattle for quite some time now." Carlisle explained.

"So it is because of vampires?"

"I think it would be best if we talked face to face Bella. Can you come to our house later?"

"I'm sorry Carlisle, but I don't think that I could handle your scent."

"I understand. I'll meet you at the treaty line then. See you in fifteen minutes?"

"Sure Carlisle." I heard the click of the call disconnecting before slipping into the woods. I stripped my clothes and wrapped them under my leather chord. I thought about Alice's reaction to my being a werewolf, before I felt the heat spread all thought my body before I was staring at my golden paws.

I took off through the underbrush, running towards the treaty line. The further I ran, the further my thoughts strayed. I started wondering about the almost second presences that all the others had, and the sudden changes in personality that they all had when they got angry. I decided that I would ask Jake, Seth, or Embry about it later.

As I got closer to the line, I started to smell the scent of sugar mixed with bleach. The scent got very strong before it waned again.

"_That's strange, why would the scent be strong, then get weaker… Crap." _I turned around as fast as I could, and started running towards the scent. I paused for a slight second and released a howl.

As I followed the scent, I began to notice my surroundings, but it wasn't until I broke through the tree line that I caught where I was-at my house. I quickly phased back, reigning in something from inside my head, before I quickly pulled my clothes on and tried to remain in control as the sickly sweet smell of vampires danced around me as I ran to the front door.

I gasped as the door came into focus-the door was swung wide open. I ran into the living room to see Charlie asleep on the couch, two people standing over him, one crouching dangerously close to his neck. The crouching one snapped his head toward me as soon as I released a feral growl.

"Bella" I recognized the vampire's face, it was Laurent "I hope you don't mind if we eat your father, would you? We're so hungry…you won't mind, will you?"

I snapped. The warmth overtook me as I leaped at Laurent, phasing into my wolf form in midair. I hit Laurent head-on, as the other leech made for the open door. I saw a flash of red as Laurent called out to the other blood sucker.

"Riley, we're allies, can't you help me?"

"Why would I help someone who can't survive on their own?" The leech ran from my house. I cared about a leech being on our land, but I cared about the blood sucker who was threatening my father-my family more.

A low growl escaped my throat as my teeth dug deep into Laurent's neck. I heard the cracking as Laurent's neck was slowly breaking apart. I ripped his head off and flung it somewhere behind be, to stare straight into the barrel of Charlie's hunting rifle.

I heard a plethora of footsteps as Jake, Leah, Seth, Jared, and Embry all flew in through the door before I heard a staccato bang. My eyes fell closed as I fell into unconsciousness.

~*~JPOV~*~

As soon as Bella's howl echoed through the afternoon air, everyone shot out of the lodge and phased, not bothering to take our clothes off. We flew through the forest in the direction the howl came from.

"_Bella?"_

"_What's wrong?"_

"_Bells?"_

"_What's wrong Bella?"_

We all flew through the forest, when we caught the smell of leech coming from the border, and from Bella's house.

"_Paul, Nix, Quil and I will go to the border, the rest of you go to Bella's house." _Sam ordered.

"_Kay."_ We all responded, albeit at different times so our responses were staggered and sounded like a complete mess.

The five of us that were left never missed a stride as we changed course to Bella's house.

We all phased back as we ran for the open door of Bella's house, not caring that we were naked. We all stopped in the door as we saw Charlie shoot Bella's wolven form.

Charlie gasped as Bella's unconscious from shifted back to her human appearance. He fell to his knees "Oh God…Bella…" Charlie's head snapped toward us "What did you do to her?" He roared.

"We didn't do anything…" I started, holding my hands up in mock surrender.

"You're the one who shot her." Leah interrupted, a sneer in her voice that was only ever there when Emily was around.

"W-why was Bella a-a wolf?" Charlie stuttered.

Seth, Embry, Leah and I were all shaking, Jared being the only one of us that didn't really know Bella that well personally.

"It's who she is Charlie." I growled.

"It's who we are." Seth continued.

Silence enveloped the room as everyone stared at Seth.

"Oh crap." Seth rushed as he covered his mouth.

"Great going Seth." Leah mumbled while smacking her brother upside his head.

Charlie turned the gun on us "Get out of my house, NOW!"

I lunged for Bella, and Charlie pulled the trigger. The bullet barely grazed my shoulder. I didn't wince as I picked up Bella and retreated with the rest of our pack mates.

As soon as we were exited the clearing, we ran towards the lodge. Bella groaned in pain.

"We need to get the bullet out of her." Embry stated, eying her wound.

"Why? Our bodies can handle it."

"Lead is poisonous, less so to us, but it's still poisonous. Look, her wound's already infected." Embry pointed at the redness already licking at the edges of Bella's wound.

"Where are we going to take her? We can't take her to the emergency room, they'll get suspicious when she recovers so fast."

"There is always Dr. Cullen…" Seth suggested.

Everyone glared at Seth "Are you crazy Seth?" Leah questioned as she raised her hand to hit him again.

"No, Dr. Fang is the only person who won't suspect us for our quick healing…" I mumbled.

"But Jake…They're bloodsuckers! We can't trust them to control themselves…" Jared started.

"But he's Bella's only hope." Seth pleaded.

"Then we'll take her to the Cullens." I stated as I changed course, making for the border.

"Wait, Jake!" Jared called as I ran towards the border.

I ignored Jared's calls. I ran as fast as I could, flanked by Leah, Seth, and Embry. I could scarcely feel the branches poking at my body, the undergrowth lapping at my body-the only thing I cared about was Bella.

The leech scent got stronger as we got closer to the border. We all skidded to a halt when the forest opened up into a wide ravine that marked the edges of our territories. A yelling match between Sam and one of the Cullens stopped as soon as we emerged on the rock of the clearing.

"Bella!" the biggest Cullen called out as he ran directly across from us, on their side of the gorge.

I leaped down into the river "Jake, what the hell are you doing?" Paul burst out as I waded to the other side of the gorge, accompanied by Seth and Embry. Leah had run off somewhere else as soon as she caught Sam's scent at the gorge.

The Cullen met me at the other side of the river, and I carefully passed Bella to him. He scrunched his nose a bit, most likely from our collective scent, but it's not like they smell like roses either. The other two leeches who were there flew to Bella's side as I climbed out of the river, Embry and Seth following soon after.

"What happened to her?" Dr. Fang asked me.

"Charlie shot her."

"What?" The big leech and the female leech exclaimed.

"Her phasing back must've cracked the bullet, which probably tore at some of her tissues. I'll need to remove the bullet immediately. Come to our house" Dr. Fang motioned to us "We have something to tell you as well."

I heard Leah's faint call for us. "We'll be there soon." I responded to Dr. Fang as we ran down the gorge, towards where Leah was. When she came into view, she was waving around three pairs of cutoffs.

"Here." She threw them to the side of the gorge we were on. "Thank me later." With that she disappeared back into the woods.

We quickly pulled our cutoffs on before running deeper into Cullen territory.

~*~X~*~

REVIEWS ARE MY CANDY!


	25. Discoveries

Sorry I've been gone for so long!

I have absolutely no excuse, well actually I do. I had to work on my entry for the truly anonymous twific contest (http:/ficcontest[.]info/). I finished on Monday, and since then I've been editing non-stop..

Also, my BETA Elison unfortunately is experiencing family problems and as a result cannot be my BETA anymore. What does this mean to you guys? It means on open cast call for a new BETA. If you're interested in becoming my new BETA, PM me your email address and I will sent you a small questionnaire to fill out. This open cast call will last until I find a new BETA.

Lastly, I apologize if I miss an upload every here and there. I do have a life outside of fanfiction.

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer is the owner of anything you recognize. Everything else belongs to me-the OCs and plot supplements.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 24 Discoveries (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

The scent of blood hung heavily in the air, so much so that it drowned out the leech-scent that engulfed the entire mansion. It was so strong the Seth, Embry and I could barely stand it, but that could just be because it's Bella's blood-a fellow wolf who's blood is producing the scent. The entire family had left as soon as the metallic scent of Bella's blood drifted from Dr. Fang's office.

"Do you think she's okay? I mean she's been in there for a long time…" Seth asked.

I stopped my pacing to look at him "Bella's one of us-she won't die easily."

"Could've fooled me by the amount of blood I smell…"

"Wait." Embry said as he sniffed the air "That isn't all her blood…"

All of our eyes widened in alarm as we ran to the leech's office-the stench of some stranger's blood getting stronger and more intense with each step. It didn't take long before we could hear Dr. Fang muttering to himself.

"Impossible…I've never seen anyone reject a blood transfusion so quickly…"

We all barged through the door, and our eyes quickly fell on the bloody heap of gauze that was lying by Dr. Fang's feet.

He turned his head, giving us a glimpse of a bag of blood connected to Bella's arm hanging from an IV pole.

"What's so different about that? People reject blood transfusions all the time…" Embry started, his knowledge of biology starting to show through.

"Her body rejected the blood as soon as I started the drip." Dr. Fang explained.

"Why did you need to transfuse blood in the first place?"

"Just as a precaution. Her blood had been tainted by the lead shrapnel that I've already removed. I don't know the extent to which lead affects you so I figured it would do some good to cycle her blood…"

"Let one of us do the blood transfusion." Seth stated. When we all looked at him, he continued "I may not have done that well in bio, but I do know that we each have the gene where the other person didn't." he said, motioning to the hanging bag.

"You may have a point Seth…" Dr. Fang said before pulling out a new needle attached to a clear tube "So who'll go first?"

"I will." I volunteered myself. I barely registered the small prick as the needle punctured my skin. I watched as my crimson blood flowed through the tube and into Bella's IV. Carlisle watched on with interest, before feeling around Bella's IV.

He pulled the needle out of my skin before removing the tube from Bella's IV. "It's not working Jacob-she's rejecting your blood."

Embry went through the same process, as did Seth. Both achieved the same results.

"I don't get it. Her gene came from all three of us, so why can't any of us give her blood?"

Everyone glared at Seth again.

"You're fucking brilliant Seth!" Embry cheered "Would there be any different result if we _all_ gave her blood at the _same time_?"

"Maybe… It's worth a shot anyway. Her blood will have cycled completely in a few days anyway-all we're doing is trying to speed up the process." Dr. Fang pricked all of us with another needle, and connecting the tubes to some fancy 1-way valve pieces before attaching them to a fancy-looking 4-way connecting tube, and finally to Bella's IV.

We all watched as the crimson liquid flowed down the tubes, pushing their way through the one way valves before combining in the connector and flowing down into Bella's IV.

Seth, Embry and I watched as Dr. Fang checked on Bella after a few minutes. "It's working… She's accepting the blood…" he mumbled.

After a few more minutes he cut the link, plucking the needles from our arms, simply stating that we had already given her enough blood to help accelerate her blood cycling.

When the bloodsuckers finally started returning to the house, the mother leech just about bleached Dr. Fang's entire office. As if our noses needed another stench clawing at them! Wasn't their stench enough? Do they want to numb our noses or something?

Seth, Embry, and I were all waiting outside, contemplating jumping into the river to purge the horrendous combination of pure bleach and sickly sweet bloodsucker stench from our noses when the big leech-the one that was fond of Bella, approached us.

"Uh… Jacob, Embry and Seth right?" He hesitantly asked. We could all hear the uncertainness in his voice.

"Yes." We all responded.

"Carlisle told me to tell you guys that Bella woke up a few minutes ago."

Apparently we were lost in our thoughts for quite a while longer than we expected, because when we left the leech nest, Dr. Fang said that it would be at least an hour before Bella woke up.

"So can we see her?" Seth asked.

The leech hesitated for a second, listening closely for a response from Dr. Fang. "Carlisle says you can." He finally responded.

We all reluctantly reentered the fortress of stink, passing some form of living room, not that the leeches did much 'living'.

The TV was on, and a very familiar news report was on.

"Seattle is in a state of terror. Police are baffled by the escalating murders and disappearances. Theories range from a vicious new gang, to a wildly active serial killer. Reporting live, Donna Shuebay, CNN."

"It's getting worse." Dr. Fang muttered from his spot on the couch.

"What's getting worse?" I questioned as Embry, Seth and I broke away from the big leech to form a line near the TV.

"Esme, why don't you show Embry and Seth to Bella. I would prefer to keep this to as few ears as possible."

"Follow me." The mother leech requested with a smile.

Embry and Seth hesitated for a moment, sending me a concerned glance before heading off towards where Bella was being kept.

"Now would you mind what's getting worse?"

"The situation in Seattle."

"So it is vampires?"

"Yes. Newborns-our kind. You shouldn't worry about it too much though. The Volturi will step in soon-I'm surprised they let it go on this long."

"Wait. What are the Volturi?"

"They're like your tribal council." The pixie leech explained "They carry out the laws of the vampire world."

"Bloodsuckers have laws?"

"Yes, none more so than the fact that our existence must be kept secret." Dr. Fang continued.

"But what if…"

"Hey Jacob! Come try this leech's food! It's amazing!" I heard Embry's semi-muffled shout from somewhere else in the mansion.

"Go; eat. You need your strength."

I hesitantly followed the scent of food into a room, finding Seth and Embry sitting on the floor eating sandwiches as fast as they could stuff them in their mouths, Bella lying in a bed eating much slower than the guys, and the mother leech looking on the scene with a huge smile on her face.

"Come on Jake!" Seth mumbled through a mouthful of bread, ham and lettuce as he tossed me a sandwich out of the massive pile that he and Embry were demolishing.

I cautiously sniffed the piece off food in my hand. Nothing out of the ordinary-plain white bread, turkey, lettuce, mustard and pepper. I took a cautious bite out of the sandwich. I have to admit, it isn't as good as Bella's cooking, but for a leech who can't taste her own cooking, these sandwiches are good.

Mother leech was looking at me, the unspoken question of 'How are they?' evident in her gaze.

"They're really good."

Her smile just got bigger as she watched us demolish the rest of the pile of sandwiches.

"Thank you Esme." Bella said once we were finished.

"Yeah thank you Esme!" Seth echoed.

"Thank you." Embry grunted.

"Thanks…" I mumbled.

"It was nothing you guys" she responded, the tone of her voice hinting that she would've been blushing, if she could.

"No, that was the second best cooking I've ever had!" Seth exclaimed.

"So whose cooking is number one Seth?" Embry pushed.

"Bella's of course."

"What about Emily's?" I asked.

"Now that I think about it more, what Nix said at the cabin is true-Emily focuses more on quantity rather than quality, while Bella and Esme focus on both."

I couldn't help but wonder when Seth started using the vampire's actual names instead of the nicknames that the pack had given them, that had stuck for the most part.

~*~X~*~

I LIKE CANDY! (and reviews)

**Fun Fact #3: **I am a Scorpio


	26. Love is a Cruel Beast

Hey, here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I only own the rights to my OCs and plot supplements. Stephanie Meyer owns everything else.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 25 Love is a Cruel Beast (LPOV)

~*~X~*~

I don't know how Jake does it. He's so close to Bella, but he still knows that the entire love that they share could be torn from them with a single look at the wrong person-he knows the dangerous reality of imprinting.

Bella will fall apart if Jake imprints.

It's as simple as that, just like I crumbled when Sam imprinted.

Bella shouldn't go through what I've gone through-no one should.

It wasn't Sam's fault at all, I know that now. It's not like he had a choice who he imprinted on-he's happy with Emily, happier than he was with me… I can see in his head that he still loves me, and that he regrets hurting me, but I just can't believe him when he's always thinking about having his tongue down my former favorite cousin's throat.

_"I really am sorry Leah, I…"_

I didn't hear the rest of Sam's sentence as I phased out of the pack mind. I haven't been phased at the same time as Sam since I phased back for the first time. I can't stand it!

"I hate this!" I screamed. A rustle sounded in the bushes to my right "Who's there?"

"It's just me Leah!" Nix cried, shooting up from behind the foliage, his hands held up in mock surrender, though from the expression he wore on his face, he appeared scared for his life.

"What do you want Nix?"

"Um… Er… Uh…"

"Just spit it out already!" I snapped.

Nix jumped in surprise "Well, uh… I probably should just ask Sam…"

"Then why are you talking to me?"

"Um, well my cousins are spending the Summer with us, and I can't exactly avoid them for three months, so I was wondering how you felt when Sam phased for the first time so I could make sure my cousins don't feel the same way?"

I think it's sweet how he doesn't want his cousins to go through what I went through, but… I bristled at the memory of those first few weeks after Sam 'disappeared', followed by him imprinting on Emily the first time he came back to me…

"Leah?" Nix's voice cut through my reverie.

"I thought I did something to chase Sam away-that it was my fault. But as time went on, I started to think he hiding something from me. When he finally came back to me, I was overjoyed, but he was always so reserved around me-like he was hiding something from me. You can probably guess what happened next…"

"Yeah… I'm so sorry for you Leah-I know how hard it must be for you to have to share a mind with Sam…"

"Thanks Nix."

"So I should tell them?"

"NO! Bad idea Nix, if Sam found out you would be on midnight patrol for the rest of your life!"

"Then what should I do?"

"Don't avoid them-then they'll get suspicious, since you're already so close they will know that something's up with you right away. Just be sure to spend time with them, that's what I wish Sam would've done."

"Thanks Leah. You're really nice, when you aren't bitchy."

My mouth dropped as Nix retreated into the forest.

~*~(NPOV)~*~

I laughed as I ran away from Leah.

I wonder what Leah's face looked like after I left? It must've been priceless.

My mind wandered to my cousins as I ran through the forest, back towards my house. After all, I have appearances to start to put up with my mother!

I remember how Danny and I would always spend every waking moment together, so much so that people thought we were brothers separated at birth. At first we brushed it off, but as we grew older we started to see the similarities in our physical features, the most obvious being our identical eye and hair colors, height, and facial build. In fact, we were so sure that we were more closely related than cousins that we were going to have our DNA compared to confirm our suspicions. Of course the day before we were going to have it done I figured out that my dad was forging my signature behind my back, so I had to vent to Cymi. I always felt a pull towards her; I can't explain the connection we had. The conversation flowed so smoothly, so naturally-as easy as breathing. That person just had to be driving drunk that early in the evening… I started to shake. NO! I _need_ to calm down. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.

I slowed down to a trot from my full-on sprint. It's so nice being able to run for hours and never get tired… Granted being a bottomless pit every minute of every waking hour gets old very quickly.

I paused for a second and looked at the break in the canopy, seeing at the gray sky above. I wonder if Danny and Liza will wonder how I grew so much in a few months, not to mention the muscle that I put on. I tore my gaze from the sky to look in front of me again. I wonder how Dustin's doing? Before he left for boot camp he was my best friend when I wasn't with Danny. I sure hope my older brother hasn't gotten himself killed wherever he is…

~*~(?POV)~*~

I can't thank Sergeant Skaflestad enough for getting me dismissed early-she's the only one who knows about everything my little brother is going through at home and how I feel about it all…

I can't wait to see the look on his face when I show up for the Summer festival-I'm sure he'll be overjoyed to see me… But what if he sees this as my giving up ma career-my dream, to be with him…

I sure hope he'll be glad that I'm home, I mean I was only on my way to being court marshaled with that last outburst I had… All of the guys know that I've been having mood swings lately-they know that I didn't mean for it to happen, but it's just been so easy for me to get angry lately… Maybe I need to see a psychiatrist when I get back to our new home…

~*~X~*~

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews)


	27. Returning Enerything to Normal Part I

Okay.

I meant to post this this morning, but I got caught up with friends... so yeah.

Disclaimer: I only own that which is mine. Everything else belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 26 Returning Everything to Normal Part I (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

Carlisle let me leave once he was certain that all of my blood had been purged of the lead. Of course I had healed within a few hours of him sewing me back up, but he wouldn't let me leave until every single blood cell had been cycled.

The only real good thing that came of my visit to the Cullen's was that I got to recement my friendships with Alice, Esme, and Emmett. Alice was still a little sour about the whole me being a werewolf thing, but Emmett and Esme were happy to resume our friendship where it had left off.

I have to get the tribal tattoo on my right shoulder soon, and I am nervous as hell about it. From all of the rumors that I've read on the internet about them, they're painful. But all of the guys say that I won't feel a thing, even though I'm going to get poked by a needle god knows how many times.

"Leah, I'm nervous."

"We all were when we got ours. The only reason the elders have waited so long with you is because of your unexpected phase." Leah explained as we were walking through the greenery towards Old Quil's cabin.

"I'm not sure if I can do this Leah…"

"Of course you can Bella!" Leah patted me on my back, a little harder than necessary "It won't hurt a bit, trust me."

"I can't believe we're missing school for this…"

"The guys said they'll get your homework for you."

"It's the notes that I'm worried about."

"Don't worry. If you can't read Jacob's or Embry's, then you can definitly read Seth's-his handwriting has always been so neat…"

Of course Leah ditched me as soon as I entered Old Quil's cabin, and I fainted at the sight of the needle laying on a table beside a chair and a stool.

When I came to, I was lying in my bed in the lodge. My right shoulder was sore and wrapped in some sort of gauze.

It then came back to me that I had to get tattooed by Old Quil and I passed out at the sight of the needle. I suppose he went through with it anyway.

"Hey Bells?" I heard Jake ask as he opened my door and poked his head through the crack.

"What Jake?"

"We want you to cook dinner for us?"

"Why not Emily?"

"She's cooking too."

"Why do you need me to cook then?"

"We want you two to have a cook-off, to see if what Nix said about Emily's cooking was really true."

"Sure" I responded as I started to sit up, the forest green sheets dropping from around me. Jake pulled his head from inside my room "And Jake?"

"What Bells?" he asked, poking his head back inside my room.

"Where am I going to stay? I mean it's obvious that Charlie doesn't want anything to do with me anymore…"

"Did you forget about this place Bells? Remember how most of us were going to live here?"

I racked my brain for the conversation he mentioned, and remembered that everyone would be living here full time except for me and Embry.

"What about all of my things Jake?"

"We already got them. As far as Charlie knows, you're staying with Leah."

"So where are they?"

"There." Jake motioned towards a pile of boxes stacked against my dresser.

"Oh, thanks Jake."

"No problem Bells."

I walked into the kitchen, to see Emily plucking ingredients from the cupboards, refrigerator and pantry, placing them on the island.

"Hey Bella, get your ingredients out-Emily's almost ready!" Quil called from his perch on a stool. In fact all of the guys were gathered around one side of the island. That was very unusual, usually at leat one of them is out on patrol… I guess everyone wanted to see the cook-off between me and Emily. I noticed that Emily was holding her wooden spoon, with another sitting on the island with a crimson ribbon tied in a bow around it.

"That spoon is for you Bella." Emily called as she scurried for more ingredients.

I picked up the spoon from the counter, and slid the ribbon off it before flinging it into the crowd of onlookers somewhere. I think it landed on Paul's head, but I'm not sure.

Glancing at what Emily had piled on the counter, it looked like she was going to make some sort of spaghetti, with all of the herbs and tomatoes she had stacked up, not to mention the massive amount of ground beef.

I glanced in the fridge for a second before deciding on cooking a stew. Being torn between chicken breasts and beef, I decided to use both. I removed large quantities of both from the fridge, as well as some chicken and beef stock, sesame oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic, various vegetables, and various herbs that smelled good to me. Grabbing some red wine from the racks in one of the cupboards, I met Emily on the island, both of our mountains of ingredients separated by a massive rolling pin.

We both glared at Nix, who was sitting directly in the middle of the two of us on the opposite side of the island. "Go." He announced in a very uninterested tone, but as soon as Emily and I started cooking, then his attention was immediately on both of us.

Emily and I both flew right out of the gate. Emily immediately out water in a huge pot on the stove, and started to work on her meat. I noticed that she didn't salt her water or preheat her oven. Those things would make things go so much faster…

I on the other hand grabbed a huge bowl and poured in the stocks, sesame oil, soy sauce, minced garlic and lemon juice. Then I ladled some of the mixture into a huge dutch oven-stainless steel pot crossover thing before filling it even further with water. Putting that on a burner, making sure to pour a lot of salt into the mixture, I returned to the chicken and the beef. With speed and accuracy that could only be replicated by a vampire, I quickly cubed the meats and flung them into the bowl. Then I peeled about twenty carrots and sliced them at an angle, before doing the same with a few stocks of celery and cutting quite a few onions. I peeled a few bags of potatoes and cubed them before pouring them into the dutch oven-like thing. I put a stainless steel pan on a burner, and poured some of the sesame oil in before turning the heat on, and starting to fish the chinks of meat out of the mixture they had been marinating in. I put all of it in the oversized pan, and left them to sear as I slid the vegetables into the pot. I stirred the meat before chopping up the herbs and sliding them into the pot. Quite a bit of marjoram, thyme and bay leaf went into the pot. After about ten more minutes, I took the meat out of the pan and flung it into the pot. I threw in about a tablespoon of pepper and two of salt before slamming a lid down on top of the pan and looking towards where Emily was running around.

She was stirring the contents of a pot, throwing an herb in that smelled of oregano.

I looked at Nix to see him holding his temples and shaking his head. He obviously caught the mistakes that Emily had made.

About an hour later, my concoction was done, and I had Seth and Jake help me lift it to the island. I retrieved twenty-two bowls from the cupboard-eleven for me, and eleven for Emily. As soon as I lifted the lid off the top of the pot, I was thankful for Emily's gift. I really do wonder why these things don't break…

Once Emily was done, we dished up our dishes. My stew/soup thing and Emily's homemade spaghetti and meatballs.

"You amaze me every day Bells." Jake mumbled though his mouth full of my soup.

"This is really good Bella!" Seth piped.

"How do you do this?" Jared asked.

"Wow Bella. I knew you were a good cook, but I didn't think you were this good…" Leah mumbled.

"Good god Bella." Embry breathed.

I blushed from the complements that everyone flung at me, and I immediately felt bad when I noticed that Emily wasn't getting any.

I cut into one of her meatballs, and I immediately knew why. Her meatballs were dry, and tasted strongly of thyme and oregano. When I tasted her spaghetti, the sauce was great, but it was lacking something that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

Once we were both done everyone looked at Nix, awaiting the arbitrary judgment that would decide whose meal was better.

Nix opened his eyes and sighed. "You both put a lot of effort into your meals, and I could see that, but the winner is Bella." Cheers erupted throughout the small audience and Emily looked down. "Emily, I'm just going to be direct with this-you made quite a few mistakes. First, you used the leanest cut of ground beef, so the meatballs were dry. Second, you never season your meatballs with oregano-combined with the oregano in the sauce-the flavor will come out too much. Lastly, you didn't season your water. If you did, it would've come to a boil much quicker than it did."

I wrapped my arm around Emily and pulled her towards me "Don't worry Emily, there's always next time."

~*~X~*~

I WANT CANDY! reviews are nice too...


	28. Returning Enerything to Normal Part II

This is really just a short filler.

Disclaimer: I only own that which is mine. That which is not is the property that which is owned by Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 27 Returning Everything to Normal Part II (SPOV)

~*~X~*~

I feel kinda bad that no one likes Emily's spaghetti, but next to Bella's stew, everyone could see the differences that Nix mentioned.

It wasn't a surprise that Nix said Bella's stew was better.

The next day came quickly for all of us. I was excited for today, because today's the first day that all of us can hang out again! Granted we have to hang out with Paul and Jared too, but they aren't too bad once you get to know them.

"Hey Bella!" I called as I walked into the kitchen/living room.

"Hey Seth." Bella replied as she continued cooking whatever it was the she was cooking, covering up the entire stovetop with pans.

The rest of the pack, including Embry, slowly drifted out of their rooms and towards the delicious smell of whatever Bella was making. Those of us stupid enough to stray too close got a hard whack from Bella's wooden spoon. Why did Emily have to give that to Bella? Of course I didn't get hit, not that I ever got hit by Emily's spoon, but from what everyone else says it hurts… a lot.

"Now you guys can eat…" Bella started, before being shoved out of the way by eight hungry werewolves. "You shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you guys…"

I think I was the only one that actually heard Bella, since I was waiting for the other guys to move out of the way.

When the other guys finally cleared the island the once held a mountain of pancakes, there was just a few crumbs left on the plate "Really guys?" I moaned, my stomach growling in protest.

"Sorry Seth…OWW!" Jake yelped as Bell wacked him on the head with her wooden spoon, before going to every member of the pack and doing the same to them.

"You guys are so selfish! Can't you save some for your youngest brother, or the one that fed you! If you do that again then you can kiss your food goodbye!"

The entire room was met with silence.

"Come on Seth. I can cook bacon for you."

"No Bella, it's really okay…" I said as my stomach rumbled in protest to my words.

"You need to eat something Seth. I know for a fact that you guys can't survive more two hours without eating something."

"Come on Seth, you have no say in the mater."

Bella drug me towards the stove, and slapped a spatula in my hand before flinging a ton of bacon into the pans that were still covering the stovetop.

"You really don't have to do this Bella…"

"No Seth, I have to. After all, they didn't leave anything for me either." Bella glared at the guys at her last comment. It's surprising how six-foot guys slouch under the gaze of a five-foot female with a sturdy and durable wooden spoon.

After about ten minutes Bella took the bacon out of the pans and layered each strip in a lattice on a mountain of paper towels.

"Dig in Seth." Bella turned to face the other guys "You better not even THINK about eating this, or you'll be getting a lot more than a spoon to the head!"

The guys cowered away as Bella and I ate our breakfast.

School was fairly uneventful, save for everyone and their mother asking where we all were for the past week. To tell you the truth, we all ditched yesterday. None of us could go to school knowing that Bella was getting the tribal tattoo, especially with how nervous she's been. We all tried to tell her that it wasn't that bad, but she wouldn't have it.

Bella's been living in the lodge with the rest of us ever since Charlie kicked her out of his house. Now only Embry isn't living with the rest of us full time.

Sam said if he wanted, we could let Tiffany in on the secret, so he doesn't get yelled at for being home late all the time. Sam offered Nix the same offer with his mom, and now he can pretty much come and go as he pleases. But Embry thinks that the secret is more important. He's such a trooper.

"I can't believe that we're going to be seniors next year…"

"Neither can I Seth. It seems like just yesterday that we were starting kindergarten together…" Bella reminisced.

"We have to survive finals first though…"

"Geeze Jake, are you falling behind again?"

"It's just so hard to keep up with everything Embry. You know what I mean…"

"We all do Jake, we all do." Jared said, walking towards our table in the lunch room.

~*~X~*~

I WANT CANDY AND REVIEWS!


	29. Keeping Secrets From Family

Okay guys, I have an announcement for all of you guys, which will appear at the bottom.

So, this chapter will obviously show you who the valedictorian will be when it comes time for everyone to graduate, but who should be the salutatorian. Nominees for salutatorian are: Bella, Seth, Embry, Leah, Danny and a currently unmentioned OC. Granted the OC will probably win, but I want to see all of your decesions!

Now, there will be a huge block of fillers coming up in about ten chapters, and I want to know how you guys feel about huge blocks of fillers like this. There will be thirteen fillers, featuring each member of the wolf pack, as well as Liza and Danny. (Liza and Danny are introduced this chapter btw) These fillers explain each member's individual history, and I feel that they flesh out their character quite a bit.

Now for another announcement-I've started a blog for all of my fanfiction ventures moonhowlersdomain[.]blogspot[.]com/

I plan to update with information about future fics and contest progress, as well as my current progress with CotF.

I have entered the Truly Anonymous Twific Contest, which is located here: ficcontest[.]info/

Disclaimer: I only own my ideas, muses, concepts, and OCs. Everything else belongs to Stephanie Meyer-the wonderful author of Twilight.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 28 Keeping Secrets From Family (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

I held the envelope that would determine my future, in fact we all did, except for Sam.

We all watched as Seth opened the envelope containing his grades. His face lit up as he unfolded the paper "Four As, Two Bs"

Leah went next "Four As, Two Bs"

Jared followed "Five As, one B"

Paul came next "Four As, one B, one C"

Bella hesitantly opened her envelope "Five As, one B"

Embry followed "Four As, Two Bs"

Quil opened his next "Five As, one C"

Nix slid his out of the envelope, with no look of fear on his face "Straight As"

We all gasped as he showed us his report card.

Everyone's eyes fell on me. So far everyone's passed, and I was having the most trouble out of everyone studying for midterms.

I slowly tore the envelope open, and hesitated before I slowly unfolded the letter. I took in a deep breath before I glanced at my grades. My mouth fell open as I saw my grades.

"What is it Jake?" Bella asked.

"Three As, two Bs, one C"

"Good job Jake!" Bella cheered.

"If you would excuse me, I have something to do with my family today." Nix spoke up.

~*~(NPOV)~*~

Danny and Liza were going to be here soon with aunt Kristen and uncle Brian.

"No problem Nix, but just for curiosity's sake, what's your GPA?" Sam asked.

"Four point oh." I stated as I stood up. Looking around at everyone else, I could tell that they were shocked that I've had straight As all my high school career.

I ran into the woods and stripped as fast as I could before phasing and running through the forest, back towards my home. A deer strayed across my path.

**_Let's go hunting!_**

_No wolf. I need to get home so I can see my cousins._

**_Screw your cousins. We need to hunt, provide for the rest of the pack._**

_It isn't like we're the omega or anything. We don't need to suck up to Sam._

**_But that cooking lady is hot, you have to admit that. I wanna suck up to her, maybe get a few favors…_**

_Shut up!_

**_Getting feisty now, aren't we? I'd bet you want her to bear your pups…_**

_I said shut up!_

**_With her cooking skills I'd bet you that her maternal skills are out-of-this-world…_**

_SHUT UP!_

**_Don't tell me that you haven't thought about any of this…_**

_S. H. U. T. U. P. !_

**_Sheesh. Mr. sensitive…_**

_Thank you. I just don't feel that into girls after what happened…_

**_Yeah, that was sad, but it wasn't your fault! Just give it some time…_**

_Are you actually comforting me? Wow. I never thought I'd see the day when my wolf actually comforted me…_

**_Be quiet!_**

_I'm almost home, nice talking to you._

**_You act like we're two different people…_**

_Aren't we? Don't answer that, I have to phase back._

I pictured the great times I would have with Danny before I moved, and before I knew it I was standing stark naked in the middle of the woods. I pulled on my shorts before jogging the rest of the way to my house. I was greeted by my mother's voice as soon as I opened the door.

"How was hanging with your friends Nix?"

Knowing that she was referring to the pack, I responded "Fine mom!"

"Hey Nix, come into the kitchen-I have a surprise for you!"

I walked into the kitchen, to see a fairly large frame standing next to mom. I knew that it wasn't dad, but who was it?

The person must've recognized the look of confusion on my face as he spoke up "You don't even remember your older brother Nix? I'm wounded…"

"Dustin?" I asked, looking closer at his facial features. I recognized the dark green eyes, high cheekbones and spikey black hair that defined my brother.

"Yep." He said, nodding.

Not thinking about my appearance or high body temperature, I dove for my brother, engulfing him in a brotherly hug.

"Nice to see you too Nix. You sure have grown, haven't you?"

"Yep."

"When did…why are you so warm?"

"What?"

"You're like burning up. You shouldn't just be wearing shorts if you're sick Nix."

"I'm not sick Dustin…"

"Why don't I just find a thermometer, and then we can figure it out?"

I sent my mom a panicked look as Dustin went in search of a thermometer.

"What are we going to do mom? I can't tell him about me…Sam'll have my head if I tell…"

"We'll figure something out Nix, don't worry. Just go put a shirt and some socks on for now. The least we can do is convince Dustin that you're on the tail end of a cold."

"You think that'll work? What about for the rest of Summer? I can't always hide from him-he's my brother!"

"Don't worry about it Nix. For now, just go and get dressed."

Heeding my mother's advice, I ran into my room and pulled on a light blue t-shirt that was a little too tight for my liking. Come to think of it, most of my shirts are too tight now.

"Nix?" My brother called.

"In here!" I responded while pulling my socks on.

Dustin barged into my room and shoved the thermometer in his hand into my mouth. His eyes widened as he watched the alcohol in the thermometer travel higher and higher "A hundred and nine degrees? You shouldn't even be able to survive at a body temperature that high!"

"I'm fine Dustin, I'm just…"

"We need to take you to the hospital, now."

Dustin grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the front door, when my mom intercepted us.

"What are you doing to your little brother Dustin?"

"Taking him to the hospital."

"Why?"

"He has a freaking one oh nine fever."

"Your cousins are going to be here any minute now. I'll take Nix to the hospital if you get them from the airport."

"Fine." Dustin conceded as he walked out the door. I waited until the hum of his rental was far in the distance before speaking.

"What are we going to do mom? You can't take me to the hospital-there's no way to bring down my high body temperature! If this is the way Dustin's going to be all Summer then I might as well just stay with the rest of the pack…"

"That's just the thing Nix-Dustin's not leaving."

"WHAT!"

"His commanding officer got him an early release. It's a good thing she did too, because he was on his way to a court marshal with his recent outbursts…"

"Outbursts?"

"Yeah, one small thing would set him off, then it would be like he was in a blind rage…why do you ask?"

"That's the way most new members of the pack act before they phase…"

"So you're telling me that both of my sons are wolves!"

"Sorry mom, I…"

"I know-you never wanted this life, or would ever wish it upon anyone else… What other signs should I be looking for?"

"Well, there's uncontrollable temper, shaking when angry, a massive increase in muscle mass and height and increased senses. Oh, and there's also accelerated healing…"

"All of that? I want you around when he phases Nix. After all, you're the only member of the pack he knows."

"Judging by his new physique, it shouldn't be too long now before he phases… We may be forced to set him off…"

"What do you mean?"

"Make him angry to the point of phasing so he doesn't phase in public."

"Oh."

"If his outbursts are as violent as you say they are, then I'm surprised that he hasn't phased yet…"

"Really?"

"Yep. So, what are we going to do about the whole hospital situation? You can't actually take me to the hospital-that'll create more problems than it'll solve…"

"What do you hear?"

The faint hum of Dustin's rental was getting stronger "Shit. Dustin's back already…" A howl echoed throughout the forest-Sam's howl.

"Do you have to go?"

"Yep. See ya later mom!" I called as I ran out of the house, stripping my shirt before leaving through the back door and tossing it on the porch before running towards the forest and phasing before I hit the tree line.

~*~(DPOV)~*~

"I can't wait to see Nix again! We haven't seen him much since they moved…I'm sure he'll be happy to see us too!"

I wasn't paying much attention to what my little sister was rambling on about. We were on the ferry bound for Port Angeles, to visit our cousin in La Push. He moved there about seven months ago, after being in a near-fatal car accident, resulting in the death of his girlfriend. I'd never seen him so torn up after that night. He would jump between blaming himself and his dad before settling on it being both of their faults. They moved when his grades started to slip a little. I haven't talked to him since he started at his new school.

We used to be inseparable, almost joined at the hip. We looked so much alike and spent so much time with each other that we were quite often mistaken for brothers instead of cousins. But as we grew older, the similarities between us increased, and when my little sister was born, her appearance just added to the appearance that we were actually brothers. We had actually started to doubt that we were simply cousins as well. I mean comparing myself, Nix, Dustin and Liza, Nix, Dustin and I all share quite a few similarities that Liza doesn't. We all have green eyes to Liza's brown. Nix and I have the same birthday, and he's just mere minutes older than me. Liza has brown hair while the rest of us have black. Neither of my parents have black hair-they both have brown.

"Were you even listening to anything I just said Danny?"

"Hm? What did you say Liza?"

"Sheesh Danny, I said 'Do you think Nix'll be happy to see us?'"

"I'm sure that he, aunt Theresa, and uncle Mike will all be really glad to see you two." Mom cut in.

"Yeah… I miss Nix…" I mumbled.

About twenty minutes later, the ferry docked in Port Angeles.

As we walked out of the terminal, we noticed someone waving at us. Mom and Dad motioned for us to go towards the person while they went to get our car.

"How're my favorite cousins?" The person asked as Liza and I approached him.

He looked too old to be Nix, and too young to be uncle Mike, so it had to be…

"Dustin!" Liza screeched as she tackled him. Of course he didn't budge, not that I would expect a soldier to budge from being run into by a fourteen-year-old girl, but still…

"Come on you two. I'm supposed to drive you to our house while your parents get everything settled with their car and stuff."

"Kay!" Liza squealed.

We both got into Dustin's car, before driving to aunt Theresa's house.

As we drove down the road, we saw the house come into view. A wolf's howl cut through the air, and we saw someone run from the back door, throwing his shirt on the porch.

"What the hell is Nix doing? He should be resting!" Dustin cursed.

The person ran towards the forest, and dove before he reached the tree line.

We all gasped as the figure of the person exploded into a brown wolf, and took off into the forest.

~*~X~*~

Those of you who know me personally know that I am a procrastinator, but also like to plan ahead so everything is easier for me later. Now, Seven new wolves join the wolf pack (excluding Colin and Brady) and I need names for six of those seven. The seventh is reserved for the purposes of me fleshing out one of my favorite characters that gets very little love. *cough*Jared*cough* So leave me a review with names you would like to see appear here. If I use your name, then you will get a shout-out after I _write_ those chapters, then you have to wait about two weeks for the chapters to be posted.

Anyways, what are your thoughts on the whole inner wolf monologue? Should I do it more? Do you like the conflicting personalities, and how Nix's wolf is more... bold than Nix is?

**Fun Fact #3? **My favorite members of the wolfpack are Jacob, Embry, Jared and Seth. My favorite vampires are Alice, Emmett, Esme, Riley and Alec.

I WANTZ CANDYZ! (and reviews...)

Btw, shout-out to Matthias Stormcrow, who has reviewed every single chapter. Take a cue from him people, and start reviewing! I don't care if it's just 'I like it' or 'Can't wait for the next update' I do however mind if you ask me when the next update is, or is you tell me to update soon. I do have a consistent update schedule, and if you are a fan of this fic then you should know that. It is rude and immature to ask someone who has a consistent update schedule to update ASAP.

Now that my rant is over, please click that button down there =D


	30. The Strings of the Heart

This is a short filler.

What more do I need to say?

I own everything but the original plot and characters.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 29 The Strings of the Heart (SPOV)

~*~X~*~

Jake, Embry, Leah and I were all sitting on a driftwood log, watching Sam, Paul, Jared, and Quil kicking a soccer ball around on the beach.

"Are you okay Leah? We all know how hard this has been on you…"

"You have no idea Seth."

"We can read each other's minds Leah, I think that we have some clue as to what you're feeling…" Embry started.

"You haven't seen everything though. When I first phased, I haunted my mother about other female wolves in the past packs. Apparently I wasn't the first…"

"What?" Jacob exclaimed.

"Apparently the elders decided to ignore a few legends that described 'female warriors' and pass it off as a spelling error that was never bothered being corrected. What I found out didn't give me much hope for my future though."

"Why?"

"My cycle stopped when I phased. According to the legend, it won't start again until I imprint, and we all know what the chances of that are…" Leah glanced longingly at Sam "I don't care that I won't be myself anymore, as long as it'll take my mind off Sam, I don't care. After all, being any kind of happy is better than being sad over someone you can't have…"

"Lee…"

"We didn't realize…" Jake started.

"That's because the elders though it wasn't important to tell a legend with a 'misspelling'. Maybe if they told it, then they would've realized that there was at least a possibility of a girl phasing, then maybe dad wouldn't have…"

"It's not your fault Leah. Harry wasn't looking after himself like he should've been…" Jake tried to soothe.

"Hey guys, ready for lunch!" Bella's voice danced to each of our ears as she and Emily emerged from the tree line, both dragging wagons filled with sandwiches and muffins.

The small soccer game broke up, leaving the ball forgotten as the four kicking it around ran to meet Bella and Emily half way, Sam smothering Emily with kisses.

I saw Leah flinch at Sam's show of affection that was most likely forced by the imprint.

Embry, Jake and I all stood up and stalked towards Bella, Emily and the food once we were certain that Leah was following us.

"Where's Nix?" Bella asked, looking around at all of us.

"He's spending time with his family today-his cousins are spending the Summer here, and they're arriving today." Sam started "I'm also cutting his patrols back a bit to let him spend time with his family. It would look suspicious if he didn't spend time with his favorite cousins, after all he treats one of them as a brother."

We all knew that Nix and his cousin though that they were more closely related than cousins, but the emotional trauma that Nix went through extinguished their plans to get tested.

We all stiffened as a slight breeze blowing from up the beach drifted to our noses, carrying the sickly sweet scent of leech.

"Bella, Seth stay here and protect Emily. Leah go get Nix. Embry, Quil and Jared, fan out across the rez, see if there are any more. Leah, you and Nix join Embry and Jared when you find him. Paul, Jacob, with me."

Leah immediately took off into the forest, followed by Jared, Quil and Embry-their duties not requiring that they phase immediately, neither did mine or Bella's. Sam, Paul and Jake exploded into their wolf forms as they took off down the beach, Sam releasing a signal howl. Bella and I guided Emily back to the lodge before stripping and phasing.

We couldn't help but wonder why Sam had two of the most inexperienced wolves looking after his imprint…

~*~X~*~


	31. The First Round

Okay, the last chapter was mainly set-up for this chapter, but what can I say-I wrote this chapter about two weeks ago. You can't expect me to remember everything can you?

Anyway, I've already made-up the names of the other six members of the wolfpack.

Disclaimer: I only own that which is unrecognizable. Everything you can recognize belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 30 The First Round (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

Sam, Paul and I ran up the beach as fast as we could push ourselves. Sand was kicking up behind us, leaving a shower of sand in our wake.

The scent of leech got stronger as we ran further up the beach. The closer we got to where the scent started, the fainter it got. Eventually we found the epicenter of the bloodsucker's trail, coming out of the water.

The sea was rough and black, mirroring the suddenly gray skies of La Push.

_"What could the leech want this far away from everything?" _Paul asked.

_"It doesn't matter. We have to defend the tribe, which means attacking any leech that sets foot on our land."_ Sam responded.

We followed the leech's trail into the forest. There were sharp turns in the trail, and the leech doubled back on itself many times.

_"Why would a leech take this much care covering its trail?"_

_"Maybe it's dealt with us before?"_

_"That's impossible. We've never let a leech that's set foot on our land leave." _Sam stated.

_"What about the Cullens, when they brought Bella to her house that one time…" _Paul mentioned.

_"That was an exception and you know it Paul." _Sam snapped _"Anyway, we need to kill this leech."_

This was a very clever leech-he went in circles and even climbed trees, trying to lose us, almost as if it was trying to stall us…

_"That's brilliant Jake!" _Sam exclaimed.

_"What?"_

_"This leech is just distracting us! He's probably just a distraction! Leah, Embry, Quil, Nix, Jared, sweep the rez as fast as you can."_

_"Got it." _Embry, Jared, Quil and Nix replied, while Leah just grumbled.

_"Now what are we going to do?"_ Paul asked.

_"Keep after the leech. We can't risk it biting anyone."_

We kept up the chase until the leech stopped in a small clearing by the beach.

"Come on Riley-where are you? You said you'd meet me here once you got the goods…"

Paul jumped him, knocking both of them onto the sand of the beach. Sam then followed, jumping on the leech as it struggled to stand up, a look of alertness and fear etched across its face. Paul sunk his teeth into the stony flesh of one of the leech's arms before tearing it off, the sound of clay being pulled apart joining the motion. The leech shook Sam off before making for the water, Paul barreling into it, knocking it closer to me. I leapt at the bloodsucker, pinning him to the ground as Sam tore off his other arm. I stared into his eyes, to see fear-a great deal of fear.

_"Do it Jake!"_ Paul cheered.

I hesitantly bent my head down, sinking my sharp teeth into the bloodsucker's cold stony neck. A taste that was so sweet that it burned seeped into my mouth, almost making me gag. I ripped the leech's head from his shoulders with my eyes closed. I tossed the disembodied head behind me as Sam phased back human, lighting a piece of the leech's clothing with a cigarette lighter before tossing both arms and the head into the lavender pyre.

We were lucky that no one was at the beach, as the incoming storm had probably sent them all back to wherever they were staying.

The sound of branches breaking came to our left, and a vampire holding something shot from the woods into the cold waters of First Beach accompanied by both Nix and Leah, in wolf forms.

~*~(NPOV)~*~

After I dove into my wolf, I spared a thought for a split second about how prideful I was that no one else could just leap into their wolf consistently like I could-I guess it's just because my already naturally good balance was improved after I phased…

_"Stop thinking about how you're better than everyone else, and start sweeping the rez." _Leah snapped at me_ "There's a vamp on the loose and we need to find any partners he may have."_

_"How many more of us are out fanning?" _I asked.

_"Five of us are out-You, me, Embry, Quil and Jared."_

_"Kay. Leah, you and I should swing around the residential areas while the others patrol the hiking trails and camping grounds."_

_"Sounds good to us." _Everyone else responded, and we split.

I was running for all of ten minutes before the smell of leech drifted to my nose. Following the stench, the trees started to grow more familiar, but I couldn't figure out where I knew them from.

Then it hit me-Everyone knew this part of the forest so well because it was the area near Bella's house! Jake spent so much time here before Bella phased that every tree was burned into our memories.

I stalked towards the house, my body pressed as low to the ground as could, until I reached the bush that Jacob had always hid behind when he came here to make sure Bella was coping alright, which she never was. I slowly pushed my head above the top of the bush, to see a figure jump from Bella's window and land on the ground with the grace that no human should ever possess.

"I hope Diego is proving to be enough of a distraction for the wolves…" He mumbled to himself before taking off into the forest-towards the beach.

_"Leah. Need help now."_

_"Where are you Nix?"_

_"Swan house."_

_"Be there in five."_

I dashed across the yard, not caring that Charlie was looking out the window and saw me _"No time. Meet me on the way."_

_"Be there in a sec."_

I followed the vampire as best as I could, but the branches whipping my face and roots nipping at my legs slowed my progress. Just when I thought I was going to lose him, a flash of gray appeared next to me.

_"Can't even keep up with a leech?"_

_"Can it."_ Everyone knew that Leah was the fastest out of all of us, but even she can't bull through undergrowth this thick without slowing down a little.

The salty breeze of the ocean floated to our noses after a little while.

_"Shit. We're going to lose him." _I thought.

_"No we won't!" _ Leah started to speed up, and I increased my pace just a little bit to attempt to keep pace. Just as I was beginning to fall behind, the green forest gave way to the beach, and the leech took off into the waters of the Pacific Ocean, leaving me and Leah trapped on the sand.

_"We lost him. Shit."_

~*~(BPOV)~*~

_"Hey Seth, why do you think Sam left us to protect Emily?"_

_"Well, our imprints are our only true weakness… If their imprint is in danger, the wolf will fall apart and run to her."_

_"Not that. I mean why **us**? I mean there are more experienced wolves in the pack that could protect her much better than we could."_

_"Well, I suppose it could be because you're the proverbial youngest member of the pack and I am the actual youngest member? Has Jake actually taught you any ways to defend yourself yet?"_

_"Well, yes-a few."_

_"Anything for defending against vampires?"_

_"Uh…no…"_

_"That's probably why then. You don't even know how to fight vampires. What use would you be if you went into battle with your limited skillset?"_

_"Um…Teach me Seth."_

_"What?"_

_"Teach me how to fight vampires."_

_"I really shouldn't be the one teaching you this Bella-it should be Jake…"_

_"So? I'm a liability right now. How can I even be expected to help you guys if I can't even defend myself from a simple vampire attack?"_

_"You cook really well Bella, and besides you need time to practice. Even if I taught you, and you went charging into battle you would be even more of a liability. Your attacks would get turned around and one of us would have to save you."_

_"Come on Seth…Please?"_ I gave my best impression of puppy dog eyes as I pressed my golden coat into Seth's sandy one.

_"Bella…I really shouldn't…"_

_"Please?"_

_"I'll talk to Jake about it."_

_"Fine." _I pouted.

We were both left to our own thoughts, before the thundering sound of pawsteps came from the forest.

~*~(NPOV)~*~

_"Sam, you understand if I go back to my house, don't you? After all, my cousins just arrived and all…"_

_"Just go Nix. You have enough control over your wolf to be around them, and I know how much they mean to you."_

_"Thanks Sam."_

~*~X~*~

**Fun Fact #4- **I can dance the Caramellsdansen Para Para dance most near perfect.

I WANT CANDY!


	32. One Small Slip of the Mind

Hey hey hey! It's Monday, and that means...

IT'S TIME FOR CALL OF THE FOREST TO BE UPDATED!

I know, it's so exciting-this is like the fic's what? 6-week anniversary?

Anyway, I'm glad that you guys are still reading this fic!

It was about here that I discovered that I never really explained imprinting, so there might be false leads and little tidbits here and there that really don't lead anywhere. On Thursday, you'll get a short little bugger of a chap that just about outright states what imprinting is. If I feel like it though, I might extend it a little bit.

Disclaimer: I only own that which is mine, or for those of you who don't know yet: Nix, Danny, Dustin, Liza, and all the other OCs that are in the fic, as well as the supplements to the plot of the books/movies (I've only actually read Twilight, but have seen all of the movies so far) therefore everything else that you can recognize is the rightful property of Stephanie Meyer, Little Brown, and Summit.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 31 One Small Slip of the Mind (DPOV)

~*~X~*~

Our mouths dropped in shock as we saw the Nix-wolf run into the woods.

"Eyes on the road Dustin!" I shouted as we started to swerve off the road.

We all snapped out of our small reverie as Dustin snapped the car back into the middle of the lane.

As soon as we entered aunt Theresa's house, Dustin called for aunt Theresa.

"MOM!"

"No need to yell Dustin. Now what's so important that you had to scream for me?"

"Would you mind telling us why we just saw Nix turn into a wolf?"

"You saw Nix turn into a wolf? That's impossible."

"I'm _telling_ you mom, Nix transformed into a wolf right before our eyes!"

"And when do you claim this happened?"

"Just now."

Aunt Theresa tensed, and Liza looked as if she were in her own little world.

"Is there something you aren't telling us aunt Theresa?"

"Nope. Absolutely nothing. You kids must just be delirious from the ferry ride here…"

"We know what we saw."

Aunt Theresa was nervously glancing out at the forest as we cornered her in the kitchen.

After about fifteen minutes of not getting anywhere, she mouthed something towards the window. Dustin and I glanced out the window, to see Nix walking out of the forest, clad only in a pair of cut-off shorts.

Dustin and I ran out to meet Nix, and question _him_ about what we saw.

~*~(LiPOV)~*~

I can't exactly describe the feeling I'm getting around Dustin-it's almost as if I can sense two personalities inside him. I had the same feeling before Nix moved too, only it was much weaker. Even now, given Nix's distance from me, I'm still getting that dual personality feeling-stronger, much stronger than before.

"What're you thinking about Liza?" Aunt Theresa asked as soon as the boys were chasing Nix down outside.

A lot of yelling came from outside, and both Aunt Theresa and I turned our heads to see Nix pushing his brother around, while yelling at Danny to get back. Dustin was shaking really violently, and after Nix shoved him one last time, he released a scream of pain before his body exploded into the form of a dark brown wolf with black streaks. Nix then exploded into the brown wolf from before and threw his head back in a howl as aunt Theresa yelled for Danny to get back inside.

The feeling of a double presence inside Dustin hit me like a tidal wave, and I stumbled backwards a little.

I could very faintly feel that presence coming from my brother as he walked into the house…

~*~(NPOV)~*~

I saw my mom mouthing for me to 'go away', but by the time I figured out why she was saying that, My older brother and cousin were marching out the back door and towards me; Dustin stomping quite loudly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Nix!" Dustin boomed.

I couldn't help but shrink a little under his deep timbered voice.

_**What do you think you're doing! He's just a human-you're a wolf! Stand up for yourself you cheesecake!**_

My thoughts strayed to raspberry cheesecake for a split second, before my wolf yelled at me again.

_**Stand tall and proud you idiot!**_

_This is my older brother for god's sake! What am I going to do?_

_**You tell me. Look at him.**_

I stopped my inner monologue with my wolf and focused on my older brother. He was shaking, and breathing heavily as his anger manifested itself in his eyes, gold licking at the rims of his irises.

"What do you have to say for yourself Nix! Where were you! Not are you outside half naked while you have a fever, but you did some magic trick to turn into a wolf! Show us how you did it!"

I glanced at Danny, and he looked just as scared as I felt. I picked myself up and stood tall-to my full six-foot eight height. I could feel my wolf gloating inside that I was finally sticking up for myself. Danny looked up at me as my gaze met my brother's.

"Why should I tell you?"

That really wasn't the best thing to say in the situation, especially with Dustin so close to the edge like this.

"Nix…!" Dustin screamed as he charged me.

"Danny, get back!" I told him, gently shoving him a little before pushing my brother back. I knew that I couldn't get Dustin's wolf down from his angry high-he was too close to the surface. The only way to diffuse the situation now was to push Dustin over the edge.

I went over to Dustin and shoved him again.

"What the hell're you doing!" Dustin roared, gold eating further into the rims of his eyes-the tell-tale sign that the wolf was trying to break free.

I knew that I would regret what I was about to say, but I can't think of anything better to say. After all, what else would you say to your brother to get him mad? Dustin and I were always on such good terms…

"Getting payback for all the hell dad put me through because of you!"

That did it. The gold licking at the edges of his irises started to flow closer to his pupils as he swung a fist in my direction. I ducked with my improved gracefulness that came with my wolf before shoving my brother again, roughly.

Dustin's shaking got much more violent, and the line defining him from the backdrop of the forest blurred, before he released a short scream as he exploded into his wolf form. I looked at his coat for a second. Dustin had dark brown fur with streaks of black, and black socks on his hind legs. His ears and head were also mostly black.

Not caring that I was about to tear a second pair of shorts today, I phased and was immediately met with my brother's panicked thoughts.

"_Holy shit, why do I have paws? What did Nix do to me? How am I a fucking dog?"_

I let out a howl before taking a few steps toward him.

_**Good job Nix...**_

_Just put a sock in it._

"_Hey Dustin. You have paws because you're a wolf…"_

"_How am I a fucking wolf! What did you do to me Nix?"_

"_I didn't do anything" _I thought as I took another step towards my brother.

Just as I stepped forward, he stepped back.

"_Get that beast away from me!"_

I mentally winced _"Calm down Dustin-it's me."_

"_How can I trust you? If what you say is true, then you're a wolf…"_

I mentally sighed at his logic.

"_What?"_

"_Do you know how completely ridiculous you sound?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I'm a wolf, and you're looking at a wolf-the same wolf you saw me transform into" _I glanced in his memories briefly _"what more proof do you need?"_

"_I don't…"_

"_Just smell me…the wolf. See if you can recognize my scent…"_

"_But…"_

"_Would you rather I rub my head against yours?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_Fine."_ I trotted towards Dustin, and stared into his eyes before rubbing the side of my head against his neck.

"_Aww…" _Quil jibbed. He had to choose that moment to phase in _"I wish Leah was like that with Seth all the time, maybe then we wouldn't have to see her throwing up all of her memories of Sam…"_

"_GO AWAY QUIL!"_

"_Sheesh, you called for us…"_

~*~X~*~

Alright guys, even though I said that I've already gotten the names of the 6 insignificant other wolves figured out, you can still have a say! Jot a name down in a review and drop it into this box *Holds up box that says '**REVIEWS**'* and the name you choose may be featured in the story, along with a shout-out.

Now for my catchphrase...

I WANT CANDY (and reviews...)


	33. Learning the Legends

Okay, I have a small announcement for you guys- I'm rewriting a few of the early chapters that are OMFG short.

Granted, they probably won't be posted here-probably only ob JBNP, but if enough of you guys want the updated versions, I'll post them.

Anyway, this is mostly an explanation chapter with lines taken straight from the movies/books, so... Yeah.

Disclaimer: I only own that which isn't owned by Stephanie Meyer, Little Brown, and Summit.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 32 Learning the Legends (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

Another wolf joined the pack-Nix's older brother Dustin. He is the same age as Sam, and was a member of the military, at least before his temper got uncontrollable.

He has an air of confidence about him that is rivaled only by Sam. Nix also admitted to his cousins accidentally seeing him phase before the vampire scare, but they also saw both him and his brother phase when Dustin phased for the first time so Sam let it slide.

Nix and Sam both agreed that he and his mother would handle the situation with explaining everything to his cousins.

It's been about two days since Dustin has phased, and he just phased back for the first time this morning.

"Hey Bella."

"Hey Jake." I responded as I finished flipping a few pancakes onto the huge pile that was building up on the island. "Breakfast is up guys!" I called.

It's amazing how well Emily's wooden spoon works-the boys create a path for Seth and I every time-we never have to worry about not getting any food again. Once Seth and I were clear of the mountain of pancakes, everyone else started fighting tooth and nail for their share of the breakfast; except for Nix and Dustin who were at their mother's house, hopefully trying to figure out how to explain everything to their cousins.

"There's a bonfire tonight Bella." Jake blurted out around a mouthful of food. I've gotten used to the lack of manners around mealtimes with these guys.

"Kay. Why would I need to know that?"

Jake swallowed what was in his mouth "My dad's telling us the legends."

"So you're telling me to stay away?"

"No. I'm telling you to come."

"But aren't the legends like…a secret to outsiders?"

The others laughed around their mouthfuls of food, well except for Leah and Seth.

"You're part of the pack Bella, you need to know why you're what you are…"

"But I already know that…"

"Well the elders thought it would be best if you knew our histories anyway. After all, you are part of the tribe now."

"Yeah, they were meaning to tell you sooner, but with everything that happened and with Dustin phasing, you won't be the only one who hasn't heard the legends there."

"Fine." I pouted.

~*~X~*~

Sue, Old Quil, and Billy were all sitting on one log next to a bonfire as Jake and I walked towards the blaze that was contained in a bronze fire pit.

I settled on a log next to Seth as Jake settled down on the ground in front of me.

A sense of unease hung heavily over all of us, and I knew that we wolves weren't the only ones able to feel it. Sue shifted uncomfortably on the edge of the log as Billy and Old Quil tried feverently to avoid my and Leah's gazes.

Billy finally broke the silence.

~*~(Billy Narration)~*~

The Quileutes have been a small tribe from the beginning, but we've always had magic in our blood.

We were Great Spirit Warriors-shape shifters that transformed into the powerful wolf.

This enabled us to scare off our enemies, and protect the tribe.

One day, our warriors came across some creature. It looked like a man, but it was hard like stone, and cold as ice.

Our warrior's sharp teeth finally tore it apart, only fire would completely destroy it.

They lived in fear that the cold man was not alone. They were right.

She took her vengeance out on the village.

Our elder chief-Taha Aki was the only spirit warrior left, after his son was killed.

Taha Aki's third wife could see he was going to lose.

The third wife was no magical being-possessing no special powers but one-courage.

The third wife's sacrifice distracted the cold woman long enough for Taha Aki to destroy her.

She saved the tribe.

Over time, our enemies have disappeared, but one remains.

The cold ones.

Our magic awakens when they're near, and we sense it now. We feel the threat in our blood. Something terrible is coming and we must all be ready.

All of us.

~*~(End Billy Narration)~*~

Billy's voice carried the legend, and brought even more dimension to the legend than just reading it straight from the book had.

Old Quil started telling a legend next.

~*~(Old Quil Narration)~*~

One day, not all that long ago-only three generations ago, our warriors came across a large group of cold ones hunting on our land.

Once the cold ones spotted our warriors, they immediately offered a treaty.

Not understanding why a coven of such a size would offer a treaty of such a magnitude, the current alpha-Ephraim Black, accepted the treaty, knowing it foolhardy not to accept.

The cold ones were surprisingly accepting of the terms that Ephraim had proposed, and the treaty was signed that very day.

The Cullens weren't spotted again after that day, until recently that is…

~*~(End Old Quil Narration)~*~

Billy, Sue and Old Quil all took turns telling the legends of the Quileute tribe into the late hours of the night.

"All right young protectors, it's time for you all to get some rest." Old Quil announced sometime around midnight-the moon's waxing crescent high overhead.

Leah looked pleadingly at Sue, before Sue sighed and spoke up.

"There is one more legend we still have yet to tell."

Billy and Old Quil snapped their heads in Sue's direction.

"What are you doing Sue?" they both hissed under their breath. They might as well have just said it out loud, due to our super hearing.

"There are two females in the pack now-they deserve to hear it."

"No they don't Sue. They don't need to hear a corrupted legend that doesn't explain anything." Old Quil stated.

Leah started shaking, and from Seth's hand rubbing my arm, I was probably starting to shake too.

"Do you really want two angry, _female_ wolves on you dad?" Jacob asked as Billy and Old Quil took a few steps back after taking in our shaking forms.

"Sue?" Billy hesitantly indicated for Sue to continue.

"I told you so." Sue stated, before delving into another legend.

~*~(Sue Narration)~*~

The greater majority of our packs have been male-pure male.

The bonds formed by imprinting brought females into the pack life-as providers of comfort and sustenance.

There have, however been females in the pack before.

It is said that in order for a female to phase, a great tragedy must befall one with a heart overflowing with pent-up emotion.

All documented incidents of a female phasing involved another, imprinted wolf.

For a female, the shift is much more different and difficult than for her brothers. Her entire world is turned upside-down.

Her thoughts become broadcast to all of her pack mates, and she knows the purity of the feelings of the imprinted wolf.

Her emotions are spread throughout the entire pack, dragging them down.

Should another female also phase, then the sorrow of the first will dampen, as she has someone else to confide in.

But there is another worry for all female wolves-the immediate halting of her menstrual cycle. Her cycle will never again resume.

There is however one way around this certainty-that which most likely destroyed her in the first place-imprinting.

Imprinting for a female is one of the most joyous moments of her life, as all of her negative emotions vanish and are replaced by feelings of pure love.

But another thing also adds to the joy of the female wolf-the gradual resumption of her reproductive cycle.

While there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel, that light is in fact very dim.

Imprinting is rare for male wolves, and is even more so seldom for females.

Those lucky enough to find their imprint will, however lead a life if eternal happiness.

~*~(End Sue Narration)~*~

Silence hung over the pack as Sue finished.

Such a solemn mood had never held the boys ever before as it had now.

The contents of the legend came as a shock to us, but we now knew that there was some small hope that Leah would find happiness amongst her sorrow.

~*~X~*~

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	34. Now That the Wolf is Out

No opinion about the edits? You guys wound me.

I guess you all don't care about them then-I suppose I'll just update the JBNP discussion with the updates then.

What does that mean? If you want to read the new prologue, then mosy on over to JBNP and find this fic.

Disclaimer: I only own what comes out of my own head- everything else belongs to Stephanie Meyer

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 33 Now That the Wolf is Out (NPOV)

~*~X~*~

Sam and I agreed that my mom and I would handle the situation with Danny and Liza.

The bonfire went well with Dustin, but Sue dropped a bombshell on all of us with the last legend.

"Come on Dustin." I called as I broke away from Dustin to strip my shorts.

"Where are you going Nix?" Dustin panicked.

"To phase. Didn't you learn that your clothes don't change with you? I need to go strip…"

"But I don't know how to phase yet…"

"Trust me-you don't need to learn anything for these first few weeks…" I dashed away from my brother, before stripping my shorts, secured them under my leather band, and took a running start before diving and phasing. I trotted back towards my brother, and as I was about to walk from behind a bush, I saw my brother shaking.

He exploded into his wolf, before blinking a few times. His nose rose, before he leaped at me.

"_Why would you leave me alone Nix!"_ he snarled at me as he barreled into my side knocking me off balance, which is no easy feat whatsoever-I have the best sense of balance out of the entire pack. I fell to the ground, feeling Dustin's paw firmly pressing on my chest. Dustin leaned down and bared his teeth.

"_Dustin?"_

He snarled in response, and leaned further down.

I had never before feared for my life as much as I had in that one moment. I whimpered _"Anyone?"_ Even I thought I sounded pitiful.

"_NO!"_ I heard Seth's thoughts, before his sandy wolf barreled into Dustin's dark brown form.

Dustin snarled at Seth as I stood up. _"Come on Seth-we need Sam…or Jacob!"_

Seth and I tore off into the woods, back towards the Black house-where Jake and Sam were most likely still located.

Black smoke spiraled into the sky from the bronze fire pit, and the windows in the Black house were emitting a yellow glow.

Seth and I shot across the Black's yard, before arriving at the door before Dustin waltzed out of the woods. We both frantically pawed at the door. Footsteps were approaching the door, across their hardwood floor.

Dustin started across the lawn as the door opened, revealing a tired-looking Jacob.

I glanced over my shoulder, to see Dustin at the base of the steps. I turned around as quickly as I could before pouncing at my brother-he needed to get in control of his wolf, and obviously the only way to get him in control would be to defeat him.

My landing only succeeded in throwing Dustin off balance.

"_Nix? What's going on?" _Jake asked.

"_My brother lost control. I think his wolf has taken over."_

_**Why can't I control you for a little bit?**_

_Cause you'll hurt someone._

_**You don't know that.**_

_By the way you think about Bella, yeah. You would._

"_Nix? Were you even listening?"_

"_Hm?"_

"_I think the only way to bring your brother back into control would be for you to give into your wolf, to defeat him…"_

_**Hell yeah!**_

"_After all, you can't compete with his wolf's natural instincts."_

"_But how can I trust him? You don't know the things he says about you guys…"_

_**Since when have I talked trash about the guys?**_

"_He's your wolf-he isn't much different than you. You both have nearly identical personalities; he's just a little…different."_

"_Fine." You heard him wolf. Just don't do anything too crazy, okay?_

_**Fine.**_

I just fell into the background as my wolf took over.

~*~(SPOV)~*~

I watched as Nix's eyes faded form their natural forest green color to a dark golden color-the color that signifies that our inner wolves have seized control of our bodies.

What Jake said about our inner wolves is true-my inner wolf is pretty docile most of the time, except for when he wants me to stand up for myself.

"_Nix?" _I hesitantly asked.

"_**Nix is gone."**_ His wolf replied. Even their voices were different.

"_Oh…"_

Nix's wolf leapt at his brother, whom rolled to the side to dodge. Not missing a single beat, Nix's wolf landed, and changed directions, going for a second sweep at his brother.

This kept up for quite a while, and their different personalities were very apparent. Nix would never have kept the pressure on as tight as his wolf was.

Dustin stumbled over a rock dodging another leap, and was immediately met with Nix's head. Nix's wolf firmly planted a paw on his brother's chest, and snarled-bearing his sharp teeth.

"_N-Nix? What are you doing?" _Dustin whimpered.

This was very ironic-their positions were reversed not that long ago…

~*~(NPOV)~*~

_Give me back my body!_

_**Why should I? This is the first time you let me out! If I give everything back to you, then I'll never be in control again!**_

_I promise that I'll let you be in control sometimes, but I really need to be with my brother now._

_**Promise?**_

_I said so, didn't I?_

_**Yeah, yeah. Just don't forget, okay?**_

_I don't think you'll let me._

I slowly fell back into control as my wolf released his grip on my body.

"_It's okay Dustin, I'm here now." _I soothed as I moved my head away from my brother's neck.

"_Why were you going to kill me?" _he asked as I moved my paw.

"_I wasn't going to kill you Dustin-my wolf just had to push yours into submission"_

"_Your wolf?"_

"_Yeah. It's kinda like the manifestation of our wolven instincts rolled up into a single being."_

_**Very insightful.**_

_Shut up!_

"_So…I have one too?"_

"_Yeah, but you can't hear him yet-you're too new to this whole wolf thing; your wolf hasn't calmed down enough for you to be able to speak with him yet."_

"_When will we be able to talk?"_

"_Once you're able to control your phasing. Come on-we need to get home. After all, tonight is the night we were going to explain this whole mess to Liza and Danny…"_

~*~X~*~

As Dustin and I trotted into our backyard, our coats brushing against each other, our mother shot out of the house, tailed by Danny and Liza.

"Oh my god Nix! What happened?" my mother panicked as she tried picking all of the sticks and leaves out of my fur.

I gently pushed her away with my muzzle.

"Did a vampire attack?"

I shook my head.

"Did you get into a fight?"

I hesitated for a moment before nodding my head.

"With who?"

Dustin tensed beside me, and I pressed my body closer to his, looking his in the eyes-an expression of understanding hopefully carrying in my gaze.

"Dustin? Did you fight with Dustin?"

I shoved my mother back in the direction of the house, a little firmer than before.

"_I'm sorry I let that happen Nix, I…"_

"_Just let me handle the situation with mom. Try to stay as calm as possible for now. Listen to piano concertos, sleep, take up yoga-I don't care, just stay calm."_

"_Just how hard is it to lose control exactly?"_

"_You're kidding me right? You lost control less than an hour ago. You know what, just stay in the woods. Get used to your wolf form a little more, let me take care of mom."_

"_Kay."_

Our mom was looking at us expectantly, and I nudged her back towards the house before walking back into the woods to phase back.

As soon as I was back on two legs, I jogged back to the house, and met my mom and cousins at the back porch, Dustin lying down like a tame dog.

"What happened to you?" My mother demanded, giving me her 'you'd better tell me what the hell happened right now or you're sleeping in the woods' look. It's not like I really mind sleeping in the woods, I mean I'm a wolf for god's sake!

"Dustin lost control for a second, and I was a little too close." Close enough to the truth that if she did actually find out what happened, I can weasel my way out of it.

"Really."

"Yep. Can I explain everything to Danny and Liza now?" I asked, motioning to my cousins, who were marveling at the sight of my unmarred skin.

"Fine." She said as she reentered our house.

"So what do you guys think about the fact that your cousins can turn into wolves?" I asked my cousins.

"It's pretty cool Nix." Danny replied.

"Isn't it scary?" Liza questioned.

"It was for about the first week or so" I responded "But the feeling of the wind ruffling my fur…I love it. it's so therapeutic sometimes…"I trailed into a far-off tone.

"So what was it like the first time?" Danny asked.

"It was painful. It felt like my muscles were falling off my bones, and my bones were being pulverized. Then there was the unmistakable breaking of a barrier in my head…"

"Do you think I'm going to turn into a wolf?" hope and desire flooded into his voice.

"I hope not."

"Why?"

"If you did, then you would be bound here-you wouldn't be able to leave to pursue your dreams, or go to college anywhere further than Port Angeles. Your future would be snatched away from you."

"I don't care. If I turn into a wolf, then it means that I can stay with you."

~*~X~*~

Aw... Aren't Nix and Danny so cute?

I WANT CANDY! (And reviews)


	35. Love and Pain

Hey guys, this is the revised chapter 34. To read the original, check out this fic on JBNP.

Disclaimer:I only own that which is completely unrecognizable. Everything else belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

Btw, the Summer Festival is loosely based off of Quileute days.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 34 Love and Pain (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

"Jake?"

"What?" Bella and I had just ended our patrol, and we were jogging through the forest to where the rest of the pack was-today we had to train a little before helping set up the makeshift boardwalk and stalls for the festival.

"What's imprinting?"

Shit. I don't know how to explain it to her-if I do, then she'll probably try to distance herself from me-to not hurt either of our feelings when one of us imprinted…

"Well Bells, it's like um… It's like uh…"

"If you don't want to talk about it…"

"No Bells! It's just… When we find our soul mate." I blurted out.

"Y-your s-soul mate?"

"Yeah-our wolf recognizes our other half, the person who completes us, and we also think that it also has to do with ensuring that the gene gets passed on to the next generation…"

"W-what does it feel l-like?"

"Um, it's like it isn't gravity holding you to the Earth anymore-it's her. Nothing else matters anymore, the only thing that you care about is her safety and happiness."

"S-sounds like you know that feeling." She hesitated for a moment "Jake… H-have you… Have you imprinted on someone?"

"You'd know if I had…"

"Oh… Okay."

"Besides Bella, it's rare-heck, Sam's the only one of us whose imprinted."

"Good" Bella mumbled as she grabbed my arm and snuggled into it "I don't want to lose you…"

We just kept up our pace, heading towards the clearing where everyone else was practicing.

Bella and I both split up to strip and phase, and as soon as I joined the pack mind, everyone was picking my brain, trying to figure out why Bella and I were so late.

A wave of bitterness came from Leah, before she huffed and threw up another vivid image of Sam saying that she was the only one for him.

Sam flinched, but Leah didn't stop until she had thrown up several more. Sam knows what he said… Hell he even remembers saying it, but none of that maters anymore-not since he looked into Emily's eyes.

_"So are we going to get back to training or what?" _Quil questioned, interrupting Leah's constant throwing up of mental images.

_"Uh, yeah." _Sam responded _"Jake, I think it's about time we taught Bella a few things. Bella, why don't you show us what you already know?"_

_"Go easy on her." _Embry mumbled, everyone else murmuring in agreement, except Seth, who was trying to avoid making eye contact with me, and we could tell was trying to bury something behind his mental barrier.

Bella and I walked into the middle of the clearing, the others gathered around us.

_"It'll be easier for you to learn if you watch first Dustin." _Nix told his brother as he pressed against his side. Dustin's wolf has a horrible temper-on par with Paul's, only Paul can control his temper… somewhat.

I crouched, and Bella did the same. I never told her to do that-she must just be copying me.

Deciding that I probably should make the first move, I lunged for her, but Bella just sidestepped and lunged at me, head butting me in the side. I stumbled for a bit before swerving, and trying to nip at her legs. She jumped on top of me as I attempted to lunge towards her, the grunt of her weight focused on my back.

Granted, that muck weight probably wouldn't have knocked me off balance, but I wasn't in a position to brace myself-I was lunging for god's sake! My stomach hit the cold ground, and Bella just sat on top of me, her tail wagging.

_"She looks so much like a cute puppy…" _I thought, oogling over the image of Bella sitting on me that Embry was shoving into my brain.

She gently stood up, and nudged my side as I slowly picked myself up.

_"Jake, how much did you teach her?" _Sam prodded, even though he fully knew what I had taught her.

_"Just a few pins and a couple of places to nip at I swear!"_

Sam and I looked at Bella, who shrunk under our gaze. We were so focused on Bella, we didn't notice Seth flinch.

_"Where did you learn that?" _I asked.

_"Wait…" _Nix interrupted _"That looked very similar to Seth's style of dodging."_

Seth coughed as a memory flew out from behind his barrier-one of him and Bella in a small clearing along the beach, him demonstrating stuff by jumping on a bundle of broken branches in the rough shape of a human.

_"Seth…" _I growled. He shrunk down, his body appearing to be about half the size it actually is, his ears pressed flat against his skull. I could swear that we could even hear his wolf screaming at him to stand up for himself, gold licking at the edges of his eyes, almost as if his wolf was trying to take control of his body.

I stalked towards Seth, his eyes staring up at me, wide as diner plates. He slightly tilted his head to the left, exposing his neck-the sign of submission.

I was leaning over him, my teeth dangerously close to his neck-he taught Bella how to fight! He knew that we didn't teach her how to fight for a reason-we never planned for her to see any real action, after all, she didn't have the pent-up anger that needed to be released like Leah did…

_"Jake stop!" _Bella wailed. My head snapped up and I started at her in surprise _"I pestered him into doing it."_

_"Why Bella?"_

_"I was the only one who couldn't defend myself, so when the vampires appeared on the beach, I begged Seth to teach me…"_

_"But Bella…"_

Sam's cell phone went off.

_"Come on-it's time to help set the boardwalk." _Sam said as we walked into the woods one at a time. I hung back to walk with Bella, but she was rubbing her head against the still quivering Seth, his huge eyes filled with tears and fear.

He was talking to Bella so softly that I could barely understand what they were saying-that's something else about Bella-when she wants to talk to someone specifically, she can smudge the conversation to everyone else, but she doesn't know how she does it. I did catch one thing though…

_"I-I thought he was going to kill me…"_

I froze for a moment-I didn't mean to scare Seth that badly…

~*~X~*~

Laying the boardwalk didn't take much effort-it was just time consuming.

The boardwalk was stored in pieces in like five different storage shed spread out along the beach, in nine foot by nine foot blocks. The pieces weren't that complex-They were just two by fours on a simple square frame. All of our trouble came in the sheer amount of these we had to place, and we had to be four to a section, otherwise we couldn't place the block correctly, and the path was like six blocks wide, and god knows how many long, especially with how it twisted and turned…

Then we had to put the stalls in. That was hell. Each stall was stored in pieces, and not only did we have to put each stall back together, but each stall had _one specific_ block that the pegs in the bottom would fit into. I swear we spent two days laying the walk, and five days putting the stalls together and placing them.

Well, at least it gave us something else to do besides patrol…

~*~X~*~

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	36. Happiness is a Blessing

Hey everyone!

I'd just like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story this far, and you may or may not like the fifteen chapters that come in two more chapters, but I assure you that my former BETA loves them.

This is also a chapter where one character gets their just desserts-something that everyone has wanted (You know you wanted them to go through this)

Also, I might miss updating on Monday, because I have to Edit the next twenty chapter block over the weekend, and writing new stuff takes priority over editing. If I don't finish editing, then the raw text will be uploaded to both and JBNP, and only JBNP will get the updated versions.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 35 Happiness is a Blessing (NPOV)

~*~X~*~

"Come on Nix-we need to get to the Summer festival before the crowd arrives!" Danny shouted at me.

It's been about a month since Dustin phased, and Summer is in full swing. June flew right by, as did the first half of July. The only major things that happened were the very seldom vampire appearances that came about once a week.

"…" Liza whined.

"I'm coming!" I screamed back.

Of course, the wolf pack had today off, so we were all going to be at the festival. I was going to stick with my cousins, and I did have appearances to keep, which brings me to my current situation-finding a shirt that fits me. Even the light blue one from last month doesn't fit anymore.

I crept into Dustin's room, to find him in the same predicament.

"God, why can't I fit in any of these shirts!" he complained.

"Mind if I borrow one?" I asked.

"Nope. If you find anything that might fit me I call it though."

I dove straight into Dustin's closet, and found the one thing that would fit him lying on top of the pile of clothes that he had tossed around his room-a gray muscle tee.

"Thanks." He said as he pulled it on, before leaving to meet up with our cousins downstairs.

I dug through his stuff some more, before finally settling on a light blue camo short sleeve shirt. Sheesh, almost everything in Dustin's wardrobe is camo…

After pulling the shirt on I went downstairs to meet my cousins. Despite the shirt being my brother's, it still hugged tight to my body. Would I ever stop growing?

"Wow Nix, you look…" Liza started.

"I know. 'Like sex on wheels'" Another comment that everyone in the pack had gotten used to hearing on a pretty consistent basis "Just put a sock in it. I really don't need my cousin thinking about me like that."

"I was going to say you look good in blue, but if that's how you feel about it…"

"Just shut up you two- we have a festival to get to." Dustin sighed, as he and Danny walked out the door.

"Hey, wait for us!" Both Liza and I called in harmony.

~*~X~*~

We were walking down First Beach, reveling in the sheer amount of booths stationed on the makeshift boardwalk that the pack had helped lay out on the sand yesterday. We were all in silent agreement that we would spend time with our families and friends this morning, come together at lunch and hang out for a few hours before rejoining our families and walking down to second beach, where we would rejoin each other before half of us went on patrol and the other half of us stayed behind to listen to the legends again.

"Hey Nix!" I heard Seth call from one of the stalls.

"What Seth?" I asked as I approached the booth he was standing behind-the Clearwater's stall.

"Why don't you buy your cousins one of these necklaces or bracelets?" He asked, motioning towards a basket that said 'RESERVED' in big, red bold lettering.

"Are they even for sale?"

"Just look at them closer, then you'll see why they're reserved."

I carefully picked up a necklace. A simple silver chain housed a small piece of obsidian connected to a white oak charm-carved with an intricate design filled with a black pigment under the shiny glaze that shone in the luminescence of the sunlight.

"Are you sure the elders would allow this?" I whispered hushily, recognizing the carving as that which we each bore on our shoulders.

"Why do you think my mom made them in the first place?" he had a point there "Besides, they want everyone who knows to wear the symbol-so we know who knows and who doesn't."

"Does my mother have one?" I asked, picking a necklace with a black cord for Danny, and a bracelet with a silver chain for Liza.

"She had a charm put on her charm bracelet." Seth responded.

As Seth totaled up my two items, I looked at the rest of the Clearwater's merchandise, before another necklace caught my eye. It was a copper wolf charm attached to some turquoise before a silver chain-something perfect for Danny.

"I'll take this too." I said handing it to Seth.

"Let's see…" Seth mumbled, scribbling at a piece of paper while pounding at a calculator. Math isn't Seth's strong suit.

"Eighteen" I stoically stated. After all, every label on the table I took stuff from said '$6'.

"Yeah…" I handed Seth a twenty, getting two dollars in return before jogging back to catch up with my cousins, who were staring wide-eyes at the Black's stand-Billy's hand carved wood sculptures standing proudly on the cedar wood of his stall.

"What can I do for you guys?" Billy asked us with a smile.

"We're just looking…" Danny started, before his eyes settled on a six-inch tall walnut carving of a wolf in mid-stride.

Following Danny's gaze, Billy picked up the carving "Do you want this young man?" Make us all feel old why don't ya?

Danny nodded, entranced by the carving.

"Then it's yours." He held the carving out to Danny.

"Billy, you don't have to do this-you spent too much time on that to not get anything in return…"

"Nonsense Nix. No monetary value rivals someone's happiness." He winked at me after Danny took the sculpture, and I knew what that meant. I had asked him to carve a sculpture of my wolf so I could give it to Danny. I was planning to buy it from Billy as soon as he had finished that bloody carving, but he insisted that I buy it at the festival. I have no clue how long I had to hold that bloody position, because no camera would focus on me running.

I sent him a knowing smile before continuing down the beach.

We walked past the Atera's stall, where Old Quil was selling herbal potions and ointments to any who would dare come near the stall. Quil's head was flush against the red-brown stained wood of the stall as his grandfather went on and on about the effects of some potion that a costumer had asked about. I felt genuinely sorry for him.

Around noon, the pack was starting to gather around the end of the boardwalk, so Dustin and I headed in that direction too.

I stopped my cousins before we reached the end of the walk, motioning for Dustin to go on ahead.

"Liza, here." I said, holding the bracelet out for her.

"Wow Nix… It's so beautiful…" she trailed as she attached it around her wrist.

"I'm glad you like it." I replied, sticking my hand into my pocket for Danny's necklaces.

"What about me? Don't I get anything?"

"Yep. Here." I pulled the necklaces out of my pocket, and Danny snatched them out of my hand.

"Nix… Thanks." He said before clasping both of the necklaces around his neck.

"You're welcome Danny." I responded while continuing our walk down the beach. The pack knew that Danny and Liza had to tag along with me today, so it came as no surprise to them as we walked out of the crowd.

I met the gazes of each of my pack brothers and sisters, stopping at Leah's. Her gaze was locked on something near me, and filled with love, adoration and shock.

I followed her gaze to my cousin's. He was frozen in place, his gaze locked with Leah's-staring at her like she was the most beautiful thing in the world.

A few nervous glances were sent between the members of the pack. We all knew what had happened-Leah found happiness at last; Leah imprinted on Danny.

~*~X~*~

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	37. Bound for Life

Hey hey hey, sorry this is so late-I'm feeling a little under the weather today, so yeah.

I also should wars you that the fifteen chapter long block of filler chapters is coming up in two chapters, and we'll be starting off with Embry!

The next chapter is also going to be a lot of... Oops, I almost spoiled it!

Anyway, the original chapter 34 is now up on JBNP, so check it out if you want to, so yeah.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 36 Bound for Life (LPOV)

~*~X~*~

As soon as I took Seth's spot at our stall, the best smell that I've ever smelt came to my nose-a smell of earth mixed with sugar and a touch of some spice that Bella probably has tucked away somewhere in the kitchen cupboards.

When it was time for the pack to meet up, mom took over for me. I ran to the end of the 'boardwalk', where everyone except for Nix and Dustin were waiting. We caught both of their scents before we saw Dustin push his way from the crowd, bringing the good scent with him.

"Where's Nix?" Jacob asked as soon as Dustin was within a normal person's earshot.

"He's coming. He just had to give our cousins a few things." Dustin responded. Dustin's adjusted to this life very well, he's a long ways away from letting his wolf take control of him like he did the night he heard the legends for the first time. In fact, he heard his wolf for the first time a few days ago-he was so ecstatic that he almost missed his patrol…hell, he practically missed half of his patrol. None of us understand his excitement at hearing his wolf for the first time-most of us can't even sustain a conversation with our wolves for more than ten seconds without being driven to the hills, Quil, Nix and my brother excluded.

When Nix finally pushed his way out of the crowd, two people emerged almost immediately after Nix. They took a few steps towards us, before I met a pair of deep green eyes. Everything around me started to fade, as my entire center of gravity shifted to that person-I knew that I could, and would do anything for him, be anything for him…

I don't know how long I was lost in those forest orbs, when someone snapped me out of my trance.

"Leah?"

I blinked twice, and everything was back around me "Hm?"

"You imprinted, didn't you?" Sam whispered as Nix continued his approach, trying not to show that he knew something happened.

I nodded, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Who are they Nix?" The girl asked, motioning to about half the pack, the boy staring at all the boys in awe.

"I'll just reintroduce everyone… Danny, pay attention!"

The boy looked up at Nix and nodded.

"This is the rest of the pack-Sam, Paul, Jared, Jake, Bella, Seth, Embry, Quil and Leah." Nix motioned to each of us in turn.

"You look beautiful." The boy told me.

A few of the others snickered as I blushed. They were met with an irritated growl.

He took a step back, as did the girl, who looked like she was having a really bad headache.

"So who are they?" Bella asked, even though we all knew who they were-Nix's cousins. For some reason though, Nix never mentioned their names…

"Danny and Liza." Nix responded.

"Well, come on-I have to help my grandpa again in a few hours." Quil whined.

~*~(NPOV)~*~

After a very big lunch-and I mean a _big_ lunch; the last food we ordered came a half hour after we ordered, and we ordered from like five different stalls!

"So what do you want to do now?" Sam asked us as a few of us were still munching on the remains of what once was a pile easily five feet high of hamburgers.

"Why don't we show Danny and Liza our wolves…?" Paul started to suggest.

"NO." I vetoed before Paul had even finished his sentence.

"But…"

"No."

"Fine."

"Why don't you guys go play some sport on the beach?" Danny suggested, attracting the gazes of eleven wolves.

"That's actually a good idea." Jacob commented.

"Yeah, those of us who aren't going to be on patrol can blow off some steam, since we won't be able to phase until after midnight tonight…"

"Does that mean I won't be able to talk to my wolf until midnight?" Dustin whined. It's funny seeing someone who looks as old as Dustin act like a kid.

"You probably won't be able to hear him when you're not in your wolf form for about another month Dustin."

"Why?"

"He still hasn't calmed down enough for you to hear him-he's still a savage that mainly reacts on instinct alone. It's actually amazing that you could hear him this soon. The only ones of us who could hear their wolves this early were Jake, Seth and Nix." Sam explained.

"Why are Nix and Seth always the ones who are the exceptions to the general trend when it comes to their wolves?"

"That's because they're naturally calmer than the rest of us, and because of that their wolves were much calmer than the rest of ours."

"So when are we going to get a ball?" Quil questioned.

~*~X~*~

As we were walking down to the beach, Liza was a lot tenser than she usually was. Wondering what had her so tightly strung I slowed my pace to fall in step next to her.

"What's up?"

"What?"

"You're tense, relax-this is a festival!"

"But Nix, There are just so many double presences…"

"How many?"

"Um…" Liza closed her eyes for a moment, before opening them again "Thirteen. I sense thirteen double presences... I think, there's just too many-they're all jumbling together…"

"Anyone we know?"

"Um… Danny I think?"

~*~X~*~

fanfic reader, I don't mind gettng anonymous reviews, but if you're trying to tell **me** how to write **my** story, then I can't say this any nicer-fuck off. I don't appreciate people who are too lazy to leave a signed review like that, thusly forcing me to go on a rant at the end of a chapter about what you said that I could discuss with you in a PM. If you actually read the next chapter, I describe Bella's fur color as being "somewhere between gold and russet". If you actually think about everything else the term 'golden' could refer to, then I wouldn't be on this rant right now. When I say gold I don't mean the stereotypical 'shiny yellow expensive' gold-you're right, that would be absolutely ridiculous, but I wasn't referring to that type of gold. I was instead referring to the actual coloring of the element-the deep yellow color, mixed with a russet color, or as a _golden_ brown. As for your suggestions, do you know how many wolves are brown in this fic? Seven. Seven wolves: Jared, Nix, Quil, Dustin, and three others that can't be introduced yet, not to mention a few of the 'insignificant others' that are going to be included in the breaking Dawn arc. Now for white, why would a wolf living in a _lush, green forest_ have _white_ fur? Answer me that. Not only is there absolutely no camouflage, but there would be no sneaking up on anything! Wolves generally have white fur in the _artic, _where the snow allows them to be camouflaged. Now, think about it-Bella got her gene from Seth, Embry and Jake, whose genes all _combined_ to make Bella's. Gray-black fur, sandy fur and russet fur. How could you pull white out of that? Now while I appreciate your feedback, I do not appreciate your comment on how I should color my wolves. I'm the author, so I have last say, even over my BETA. The only say you have is in what I asked through the chapters, such as the names of the other wolves, the salutatorian, and your opinions on the filler chapters. Quite frankly, it isn't what you said that set me off, but how you said it. You come off as a whinny kid who doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut. I find things I dislike in fics all the time, heck in Ice by 2cool4school2.0 (that I BETAed) I noticed somethings that I didn't like, and I gave her **friendly** sugestions on how to change it, and she thought that a few of them were good, and included them. For example the whole going to the ice rink the day after Christmas thing was all my idea. Now, if you want to have some small say in my fics, then you should be my BETA. Granted, your chances are very slim now that I'll accept you, but that's the only way that you will have some small semblance of a say in my fics.

Phew, noe that that rant's over, I would like to remind everyone that the position for my BETA is still open! Please PM me if you're interested!

~Catchphrase~

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	38. The End of the Festival

Okay, there is one more chapter after this before a huge time skip/block of filler chapters. Don't worry, about every three chapters or so there will be some plot progression, and I plan to fly right out of the gate after all of these fillers, so expect the pace to increase in about seventeen chapters or so.

I forgot to put the disclaimer in the last chapter, as well as this message:

The summer festival is loosely based off of the Quileute festival, but came completely out of my head. Any similarities are purely coincidental.

Disclaimer: I only own me OCs and my plot stuff. Everything else belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 37 The End of the Festival (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

Leah was supposed to patrol during the bonfire, but I switched with her so she could be close to Danny.

"Thanks for doing that Bella-Leah really appreciates it." Sam told me as Jake, Embry, Seth, Nix and I all started toward the forest.

"It's no problem Sam-Leah deserves this happiness."

"Yeah, have a good time on patrol."

"Thanks Sam."

All five of us broke off in different directions to strip and phase.

_"So Bella, why don't you and Jake patrol the border with the Cullens, and we can take the rest?" _Seth suggested as soon as we were all in our wolf forms.

_"Just don't do anything you wouldn't want the rest of us to see…"_ Embry started saying suggestively before being interrupted by a very hard head-but to his flank, courtesy of Jacob.

_"Don't even think about it." _Jake snapped, protecting something in his head even more than he usually does.

_"Sheesh Jake-that hurt!" _Embry whined as he slowly stood up, shaking the leaf litter from his coat.

_"Sorry Em…"_

_"No worries Jake."_ Embry replied as he nudged Jake with his shoulder.

_"Let's get moving then Jake." _I said before trotting into the woods.

_"Wait, Bella" _Jake called, running after me _"Are you upset that we won't be able to see the closing ceremony thing?"_

I slowed my trot, to let Jake come up beside me _"Kinda…"_

_"We could watch from on top of a cliff… There's a lot of cliffs in one area of the border, if we time it right, we should be able to watch from there…"_

_"You're the best Jake, thanks…"_

Seth, Embry and Nix were all making gaging noises in their heads, but I paid them no mind as I licked Jake's face.

_"I thought you weren't going to do that again…"_ Jake mumbled in a far-away voice.

Jake and I were running along a gorge that made up a large part of our border with the Cullens, when something moving in the brush on the other side of the gorge caught our eyes.

We both slowed down and glanced towards the opposite side of the gorge, and the thing stopped moving too. When Jake was about to howl, I recognized the vampires standing on the other side of the gorge as Emmett and Alice.

_"Wait Jake-its Alice and Emmett!"_

_"What do they want?"_

_"I don't know." _Jake and I looked at each other, before looking back at Alice and Emmett.

"We'll wait for you two." Alice said.

Jake and I went in different directions, and phased before pulling on our clothes.

"What do you want?" Jake growled. I gripped his arm, and he relaxed a little.

"We need to tell Sam something important. Carlisle wants to meet with the pack tonight…"

"Don't you know that there is a festival going on right now? If we all leave now, then people will get suspicious. Not to mention our families will notice. Did you ever think about that!" Jake yelled. I proceeded to rub his arm some more.

"I'm sure that Carlisle will agree to meet us whenever we can, right Alice?" Jake was starting to shake, signifying that he was starting to phase.

Getting the hint, Alice responded "Yeah. See ya later Bella." With a wave, Alice and Emmett took off into the woods of their territory.

"Sheesh Jake." I said after Alice and Emmett left "They just wanted to tell us that Carlisle wanted to talk to us…"

"But they didn't even think about us! We do have appearances to keep up-we can't always go running off on a whim…!"

"They didn't know that the Summer festival was today Jake…"

"I don't believe that Bella! It's been the talk of Forks for god knows how long!"

I didn't have anything to counter that with.

We just stood on the gray stone of the gorge, letting Jake's anger diffuse into the air.

"We should get back on patrol now Jake…"

"Yeah… The fireworks are starting soon…"

Jake went into the woods to phase while I phased were I was on the gorge.

_"Hurry up Bella-We're late!"_ Jake panicked as he broke into a full-on run through the forest. All he was thinking about was the perfect cliff for us to watch the fireworks.

As I chased after him, I couldn't sense Embry, Seth, or Nix anywhere. _"Jake, is it just me, or did the others phase back?"_

_"No time to think about them Bella, come on-we're almost there…"_

We broke out of the forest and into a small clearing, the salty scent of the ocean spray assaulting our noses. I padded out onto the stone beside Jake.

_"This place is wonderful Jake, but shouldn't we be closer to the border…"_

_"Don't worry about it Bella-they know that there's a festival going on now. This is just for us."_

The shrill whistle of a firework shooting into the sky cut through the night before a huge orb of color materialized from the end of a bright tail.

A cool breeze ruffled my fur, and I shifted closer to Jake, our fur bristling against itself, combining into a potpourri of Jake's russet fur and my golden fur.

_"This is amazing Jake…"_ I sighed.

_"Is this worth going on patrol for?"_

_"Definitely." _I responded, resting my head on Jake's shoulder.

~*~X~*~

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	39. Threats on the Far Horizon

The next fifteen chapters or so are essentially outtakes explaining each character's individual backstory.

The Summer Festival is loosely based on the Quileute Festival, but is completely original-any resemblance between the two is purely coincidental.

Disclaimer: I only own that which cannot be recognized as Stephanie Meyer's, ie my OCs and plot supplements. Everything else belongs to her.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 38 Threats on the Far Horizon (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

The feeling of Bella's head resting on my shoulder felt so nice, so natural… If we could sit like this forever, I would gladly take the offer.

Bella sighed as another firework burst in the sky, bonfires dotting the beach, people gathered around them for warmth, the legend telling now over, except for the members of the pack and our imprints, including Liza and Danny.

_"Come on Jake-we should get back on patrol…" _Bella said as soon as the show had ended, and people started leaving.

_"Just a sec. We need to tell Sam about the what the Lee…Cullen told us." _Bella moved her head, and I immediately noticed the lack of warmth as she shifted her body away from mine, taking her beautiful fur with her. I'm pretty sure Bella heard my thoughts, because she rubbed her head against my neck again.

_"I think your furs beautiful too Jake…"_

_"Bells…"_

_"Now how exactly are we going to tell Sam?"_

At that moment, Embry, Seth and Nix phased back into the pack mind.

_"So how was your date with Bella Jake?" _Embry questioned. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut!

_"Date?"_

_"Yeah Bella-I was originally going to barter for staying with my cousins, and we knew that you would immediately volunteer to take my place. Jake's had this thing planned for months-even Sam was in on it…"_ Nix explained before I interrupted him.

_"Can't you just SHUT UP!" _I exclaimed in a tone that had never belonged to me before, surprising both me and the others.

_"Sheesh Jake, she would've figured it out eventually…" _Seth pointed out.

_"But not right after the event!" _I wailed-this was supposed to stay as just being a nice night between us for at least a little while…

_"I think it's sweet that you did all this for me Jake."_ Bella thought as she licked my cheek again.

_"You said you weren't going to do that again Bella…" _Embry mentioned.

_"Damnit!" _Bella cursed _"I forgot again!"_

_"Again?" _Seth pushed, obviously picking my brain for said event.

I jammed Bella licking me the first time that night behind my barrier while shoving everything about my planned date with Bella out.

_"Sheesh Jake-it couldn't have been **that **bad, could it?"_

_"God Seth, if you were actually paying attention, you would've seen that Cullen said they needed to talk to us…"_

_"So, who's going to tell Sam?"_

_"We will." _I responded; after all, we were the closest ones to him.

_"Kay Jake. Tell Liza I said hi."_ Nix told me, before he refocused on his patrol, picking up here Bella and I had left off before we went on our little 'date'.

We both ran to the woods near the bonfire where all of the pack and their imprints were sitting, before phasing back and walking out of the woods, towards the large blaze.

The entire pack looked in our direction, and I met Sam's gaze. Sam nodded, and excused himself before following Bella and I into the woods, just deep enough that we would be out of Emily's, Danny's and Liza's minds.

"Please tell me this isn't to thank me about helping set up your date Jake…" Sam glanced at Bella, who face palmed.

"No, it isn't. The Cullens want to meet with us for something-they wanted to talk to us tonight, but…"

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"What?"

"Go met them."

"But I figured that you…"

"Come on Jacob, knowing them, they probably wanted to talk to the whole pack. Why don't you take Embry, Seth and Nix with you. Jared, Paul and I can patrol until you get back."

"But what about the bonfire…"

"Dustin and Leah will be there and besides, you'll need to have a few more numbers to meet the Cullens; it'll keep your wolves more at ease, meeting the Cullens in a small pack…"

"What about me Sam?" I can't believe that we'd forgotten about Bella this whole time!

"Go with Jacob. After all, I'm sure you'll want to tell the physic leech about your date…"

Bella growled at the mention of the pack's nickname for Alice. We all were trying to use their names around Bella, but sometimes they would just slip. Really, only Seth ever got their names straight.

"Come on Bella-we need to tell the others…" I mumbled while dragging Bella away from Sam, who turned to relay the new information to the rest of the pack.

Bella and I split up just long enough for us to strip and phase before hearing the others through the pack mind.

_"So how'd it go?" _Seth piped, looking up from some sort of plant he was sniffing.

_"We're meeting with the Cullens now." _

_"Like all of us, or you and Bella, or you and Sam, or…"_ I cut Seth off.

_"All five of us."_

_"Which five…"_ Seth trailed off as he realized that there were only five of us phased at the time _"Oh…"_

_"Where are we meeting them?" _Embry asked, already picking my brain to see our conversation with Sam.

_"We'll all meet up at the gorge, than travel into their territory. They know all of our pelts, well, except yours Nix…"_

_"How would they know all of your pelts already?" _Nix questioned.

_"We've already been to their house twice-we did have to phase to keep our wolves calm with their st…odor hanging around the house…" _I corrected myself, as to not set Bella off.

_"Well, I'm at the gorge. I'll wait for you guys hen."_

Just as Nix said, when Bella and I walked onto the cold, gray stone, Embry, Seth and Nix were all seated on the surface splashed green with moss and algae.

Sam, Jared and Paul phased into the pack mind as we followed the stream upriver, to a place where we could easily cross without getting our fur completely soaked.

Once we crossed the border, the sickly sweet scent of vampires immediately assaulted our noses.

_"How could you guys even think with this stench everywhere?"_

_"Just try to ignore it, that's what we do." _Embry replied, his gray and black form swerving around the trees as we raced towards the Cullen mansion.

Once we were near the Cullen residence, we each split off and phased back, before meeting just beyond the tree line.

The mother lee… Esme was waiting on the porch along with the big… Er… Emmett and Alice.

"Where's Sam?" Dr. Fan… Carlisle asked as he appeared out of nowhere.

"He…"

"Sam sent them. He's otherwise preoccupied." Edward interrupted as he joined the rest of his 'family' on the porch.

"Well anyway, why don't you come inside? It's probably best that you came with such a small group Jacob…"

We followed Carlisle into the house, barely able to handle the stink. Once we were all seated in their living room, Carlisle finally spoke up, flanked by Alice and Emmett.

"Jacob, do you remember what I told you before, about the situation in Seattle?" I nodded "Well, Alice had a vision, and it appears that the Volturi aren't willing to do anything about it. She also sees the army coming here…"

"Hold on, what damn army?"

"Remember what I said last time you were here?" I hesitated, and Carlisle continued "Newborns-our kind. We are never more powerful than in the first few weeks of this life."

"So what? You said that your Vol-something would… Wait, they're COMING HERE!"

"Yes, and according to Alice's visions, there will be a battle."

"Do we win?"

"She can't tell…"

"Why?"

"'Cause I can't see past you and your pack of mutts!" Alice snapped "I'm lucky I could see that there was a battle at all, but because I can't see much else, I can't even see the outcome, or even a general timeframe!"

Bella's eyes started to water as she ran out of the room.

"No wait, Bella!" Alice cried as she chased after Bella.

~*~X~*~

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	40. Remembering Our Past Embry

Sorry this is so late-I just Fell asleep reading this really good fic called Inheritance by August Shaffer over on JBNP, which you should totally check out...

*Slaps self* Back on track SSage *Shakes head*

Well anyway, The Totally Anonymous Twific contest has opened voting, and as you know, I have entered, and there are many wonderful fics over there that I can't mention aloud unless I want to be DQed.

Okay, so here's the first of many 'Flashback/Rememberance' chapters. Each of these chapters is where I flesh out each character's backstory within Call of the Forest, and a few of your questions that you've all had will be answered within these, as well as create a few more questions, whose answers I can't discuss because they have a few major spoilers.

These chapters are my way of filling the eleven month gap that I've created in between major plot elements. These are also the only character development that many of these characters will see for a long time, as well as the start of many character's development.

Disclaimer: I only own that which is not directly linked with Twilight (my OCs) and the supplements to the Twilight plot that I've added. Stephanie Meyer owns everything else, and whom without we wouldn't have these wonderful characters to play around with.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 39 Remembering Our Past-Embry (EPOV)

~*~X~*~

~**July**~

Man, has this been a wild ride.

After all, less than a year ago all eleven of us were just normal kids, doing everything that we do…

But then one by one we were picked off, and thrown into a destiny that we never had a say in.

I was the fourth of us to phase, following Sam, Jared and Paul.

Explaining everything would take too long, but I can explain pretty quickly how my life was before I became a wolf…

~*~(Embry Flashback/Narration)~*~

Jake, Seth, Quil and I were all best friends when we were little. We would go everywhere together, and they didn't make fun of me for being Makah instead of Quileute.

We all met Bella one day when Charlie brought her over to Jake's, because there was some game on TV.

Harry brought Seth over, and I came over to play with both of them. Quil couldn't come because of some reason that escapes me at the moment. Charlie introduced Bella to Seth and Jake, and they were all playing in the mud outside when I got there after a failed attempt to get Quil out of whatever he had to do.

When I walked up to them, Bella hid behind Seth and Jake, and it took both of them to get her to even look in my direction.

Once Bella had gotten used to me, we resumed our playing in the mud. All of us ended up with mud caked on our clothes.

The next time Bella came to La Push, Quil was with us, but she never warmed up to him the way she warmed up to the rest of us. Heck, if I remember right, he ended up getting mud chucked at his face, courtesy of an angry Bella.

Then when we all started school, we never saw Bella as much as we had before. Sure, there were the occasional visits from Charlie that yielded time with Bella, but those were rare at best.

When Bella's mom moved and took Bella with her, we all broke apart-the only thing holding us together was Charlie's guarantee that she would be back, and Bella's biweekly phone calls. Jake got three calls a week, and Quil got about one call every month.

Jake's mom died about four years after Bella left-when we were twelve.

Charlie told Bella, and Bella came rushing back here, and decided that Jake needed her more than Renee did, and stayed.

The summer of our thirteenth birthdays yielded an accident that we all still regret to this day. To make a long story short, Bella ended up in a blood transfusion with Seth, Jake and I in the hospital. Now that I've taken biology, I do wonder why they didn't just use O-, I don't believe that they didn't have any. The doctor's name also bugs all of us now-Dr. Cullen, as in Dr. Carlisle Cullen. I wonder what he was doing in Forks; after all, the 'family' didn't move here until this past year…

Anyway, after that incident, other than Bella's constant scrapes and bruises that came as a result of her horrible balance issues, none of us had too many injuries.

Once we started high school, Bella was ridiculed for having her best friends be guys. She just ignored it and clung to our arms like her life depended on it when she came over, which seemed like every day. When the teasing finally waned, she made a few friends at Forks High.

That Summer, Charlie was transferred to the La Push police department, as the new chief. The previous chief was attacked by some wild animal-which we now know was a vampire.

Bella's sophomore year was spent being the 'new kid' at La Push High, but at least she knew a few of us.

That Summer, Sam broke off his relationship with Leah. They were high school sweethearts who hit it off on our freshman orientation. Sam had promised Leah that he would wait for her after he graduated, and he still stayed. Before he broke it off with Leah, her cousin-Emily visited to help Leah plan their wedding, even though it was two years off-they were planning on getting married right out of high school. After Sam broke up with Leah, he would be seen tailing Emily, and after Emily was attacked by a bear, which turned out to be himself, they would never be seen without the other.

Which brings me to the start of our Junior year. Jared missed some school at the start of the year, and Paul missed a few weeks about a month later. That was when they first phased. In October my temper started getting worse, and I put on a ton of lean muscle as I shot up like a beanstalk. By the time early November came around I would get so angry that my body would actually start shaking. Then one day, I had to make a rough carving of a bird for woodshop, and in hindsight, I shouldn't have decided on a bird in flight, but around my fourth attempt, I cut off half the wing, and I got so angry I phased for the first time.

Sam and Jared were phased at the time, and they hurriedly told me a brief summary of the legends, before calling a meeting with the elders, who were shocked at my phasing. Knowing what I was probably thinking, they told me that the Quileute were the only ones to carry the gene that causes us to transform into wolves. When Sam asked me who my father was, I realized that I didn't know.

We looked at the family trees stemming from the members of the last pack, and we narrowed the possibilities down to three people: Joshua Uley-Sam's father, Billy Black-Jacob's dad, and Quil Atera IV-Quil's dad.

All three were married at the time of my conception, and all of their wives were also expecting children, or in the following months.

Whenever I asked my mother, she got all defensive, and refused to tell me. I think part of that might stem from her thinking that I'm part of a gang, which isn't that far from the truth, but we're the good guys.

I think she blames herself for my recent behavior, and my lack of a father figure.

That isn't the case, I didn't want to be pulled into this gang, but I have no choice.

But… I do envy my friends for all of the memories they made with their fathers, even Quil, whose memories of his father always cause him so much pain… At least he has memories of his father, I just want to know who my dad is…

~*~X~*~

Who is Embry's dad?

Let me know who you think it is in a review.

Also tell me if you think that Tiffany (Embry's mother) should find out that Embry's a werewolf.

Catchphrase time!

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	41. Remembering Our Past Sam

Now for Sam's turn!

In case you don't know, each member of the wolfpack (at this point) will have one of these filler chapters.

Disclaimer: I claim nothing that is owned by Stephanie Meyer, but I do hold the rights to my OCs and the plot supplements.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 40 Remembering Our Past-Sam (SamPOV)

~*~X~*~

~**August**~

We can transform into giant wolves, cool right?

Wrong.

Each of us has had our future torn from us, and our conscious decisions snatched away from us… I mean I was happily in love when all this crap was dumped on us…

~*~(Sam Flashbach/Narration)~*~

It all started the Spring of my Senior year-I put on a ton of lean muscle, and I grew about an inch a week. I had started to get strange looks from the elders. I paid them absolutely no mind as I continued to date Leah. We both hit it off her freshman year-as soon as I saw her, I knew that she was the one for me. We started dating, and we practically lived at each other's houses.

One night after graduation, Leah commented on how hot my skin felt to her touch, and I brushed it off as her hands just being cold.

The next day I got two letters in the mail, both from colleges I had applied to, and hoped that I would get accepted to-Harvey Mudd and Cal Tech. I opened the letter from Cal Tech first, not knowing what to expect. I had the grades and test scores to get in, but they only admit about one hundred freshmen a year, so I shouldn't have been surprised that it was a rejection letter.

My temper had been getting worse and worse around grad, and this set me off, even though I fully knew that the chances of me being accepted were between slim and none. I got so angry that I started shaking, and dropping the other letter, I felt my bones crack and break-my muscles and skin shifting with my reforming bones. I tried to scream, but all that came out was a long howl. _Wait, a howl?_ I yelped in surprise. _How did I fucking yelp?_ I looked down, and instead of seeing my hands, I saw two massive black paws. I panicked and ran out my back door, dashing into the forest.

I stayed hidden, barely surviving on freshly killed deer that I could barely bring myself to swallow and water from the few streams that ran close to my house.

When Leah stopped by the next day, after she had called a couple dozen times, I took a hesitant step out of the forest, showing myself to her. As soon as she caught sight of me, she screamed and ran.

I was so hurt by Leah's actions that I fell into a mild depression. I don't think I ate anything for those four days before I woke up human again.

After returning to my house, I found the two letters on my kitchen table, the letter from Harvey Mudd still unopened. I opened the envelope and read the letter inside-I had gotten a full-ride scholarship to attend classes at Harvey Mudd.

Deciding that I had to tell Leah-I at least owed her that, I went to her house to share the news with her, shaking the last few weeks from my mind. Harry met me at the door, and shook my hand, asking me if I was sick. When I responded that I wasn't, he muttered something along the lines of 'right' under his breath as he proceeded to call Leah down before making a few phone calls.

Leah took in my mostly disheveled appearance, and demanded that I see a doctor. Harry quickly vetoed the idea, and invited me to a council meeting set for that evening. Being invited to a council meeting was a great honor, so I of course accepted.

Billy, Old Quil and Harry revealed that they knew all about what had happened to me the past few weeks. They told me about vampires, of our origin, and of the Cullens.

I was relieved that I hadn't imagined the past few weeks, and that I wasn't the only person who knew about what I had just became. What bothered me most wasn't that I could transform into a huge wolf, it was that I couldn't tell either Leah or my mom about anything. I was a mama's boy through and through, though I can't help but think that it had something to do with the fact that I grew up without a father figure in my life.

Leah would demand answers from me-answers that I couldn't give. I loved her, and it hurt that I had to keep this a secret from her. Luckily, she let the issue go a little bit once I guaranteed that there was not a gang, drugs, or other woman involved.

My entire life was turned upside down when Emily-Leah's cousin, decided to give Leah a surprise visit.

Overjoyed that her favorite cousin, best friend, and sister for all intents and puropses had visited, Leah immediately called me and wanted to introduce us, even though we had already met. Emily was nothing special to me, but as soon as I caught her gaze when she was sitting on the couch next to Leah, gravity shifted around me. Gravity wasn't holding me to the planet anymore-Emily was. Nothing else mattered as steel cables attached my soul to Emily's.

Scared shitless, I ran into the woods and phased. When Harry came calling for me, I slowly approached him, my massive head held low to the ground to show that I was no threat.

Harry knew what had happened to me-I had imprinted. He explained what happened to me with a sad expression, and with a heavy heart told me that I would have to dump Leah.

I did just that. Two days after I imprinted of Emily, I dumped Leah. Luckily, Harry was able to corner Emily long enough for us to tell her the legends, and what I was.

Emily wasn't happy, and initially rejected my imprint. I was in physical pain when I was away from her, so I began following her everywhere.

After a while, Emily was fed up with my behavior, and almost told Leah about the legends, but Harry caught her and sent her to my house. She let it slip that she almost told our secret, and I phased. My claws raked the right side of her face.

I immediately felt the pain that I had caused my imprint, tenfold.

Not knowing what else to do, I called Harry, who in turn devised a cover story-Emily and I were hiking in the woods when a bear attacked her. Simple enough right?

I spent every night at the hospital with Emily, and the moment I closed my eyes, Emily's opened. The nurses told her that I'd been there the entire time, and she started to fall for me.

When I woke up, I was greeted by a kiss and the whispered words that made me the happiest man alive-"I accept your imprint, Sam."

Less than a month later, The council pointed out my friend Jared, and told me that he was exerting the signs of phasing. Jared phased within the first two weeks of school, and Paul followed about a month later. Jared became my beta and Paul my third.

We were all shocked when Embry phased next, and Nix was another surprise. Nix had just moved here, and within a week he was pushed over the edge. He must've been exposed to some pretty strong emotions before he moved to phase so soon after coming into contact with vampires.

Leah followed Nix. Her phasing caused Harry to have the fatal heart attack that killed him, and it was all my fault. I had come over to discuss Seth's imminent phase, when Sue decided to call Leah down. Leah of all people!

Leah got mad and phased, shocking Harry into the cardiac arrest that killed him. Seth came down later, and phased because of his strong emotional response to his dad's death, Leah's wolf form, and seeing me.

Quil came next, following Leah.

That left only Jacob. Billy was honestly surprised that he hadn't phased yet, but he assumed that Bella had something to do with it.

Bella and Jake virtually never left each other's sides once Leah and Seth phased. Everyone would watch Jacob at school, and that must've freaked him out, cause he started venting to Bella about it, and how he felt about their betrayals.

The day that he phased, we were going to set him off anyway. He didn't react to well to my order to stay away from Bella, and he fought it all the way, even to the bitter end.

Our shared mind left nothing to question, and we could all see the immense love that Jake had for Bella. That love never waned, even as she spent her time with the Cullens. Jake loved her with all his heart, and his emotions are what allowed him to break my order the day Bella jumped off the cliff.

Well, I suppose that's how the cards fall…

Jacob is the rightful alpha, and even though my wolf hates the idea of giving up his mantle, we both know that it rightfully belongs to Jacob.

Now that an army of leeches is coming here, my wolf doesn't want to loosen his grip on our position as alpha, but I know that Jacob will have to take it sometime…

I often wonder what would've happened if I opened the letter from Harvey Mudd first…

~*~X~*~

The questions from the last chapter still stand-Should Tiffany know about what Embry is, and who do you think is Embry's father?

Anyways, another question for you guys, should Sam be able to break the imprint he has with Emily? I have something worked out for those two, but I want to hear your opinions on the mater.

The next featured wolf is Jared, so look forward to that on Monday!

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	42. Remembering Our Past Jared

Hey hey hey, this is Jared's chapter!

Now we're learning about Jared's past, the circumstances surrounding his phasing, and the introduction of one semi-important character.

Disclaimer: This chapter is 95% directly out of my head-the only thing that I don't own out of this chapter is Jared and the wolves, which belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 41 Remembering Our Past-Jared (JaPOV)

~*~X~*~

Life has pretty much gone on the same as it did before Leah imprinted on Danny.

There is one major difference between Leah's and Sam's imprints though-Leah's isn't a romantic imprint. In fact, we don't exactly know what type of imprint Leah's is. She isn't lusting after Danny, yet she's more than just a friend to him…

Imprinting is just so confusing-I hope that no one else will imprint. We don't need obsessive thoughts of anyone else cluttering the pack mind.

But… Nothing is as confusing as when we all phased for the first time…

~*~(Jared Flashback/Narration)~*~

For me, everything started a few weeks before my senior year started.

My temper got worse and worse as school approached, and my parents just swept it off as my being upset that I would be starting school again and nerves about college and stuff. Little do they know that I _can't_ go to college anymore-the best any of us can do is either taking classes online, or taking a few classes at Port Angeles Community College.

One day, about a week before school started, my little brother and sister got on my nerves with his constant pestering about what high school was like, and I snapped at them. Granted I got yelled at by my parents-my siblings were real suck ups. Drew is a mama's boy, and Dakota is a real daddy's girl.

Over that week, I watched as about twenty pounds of muscle piled onto my body as I grew a few inches a day.

My parents started to worry that I was using steroids, especially when Dakota tattled to dad that I was 'burning up'. They confronted me about it on numerous occasions the first week of school, and I denied that I was doing anything wrong, but sometimes they pushed so hard that I would get so angry that I started shaking.

I would have real bad headaches after the arguments that resulted in me shaking.

About halfway into the second week of school, I came home and heard someone rustling around in my room before I even walked through the front door.

When I walked up to my room, the door was wide open, even though I was sure that it was closed before I went to school.

I dropped by backpack as soon as I moved into my doorway-my room was a complete mess, and my dad was standing in the middle of it, haphazardly throwing things out of one of my dresser drawers.

The sound of my backpack hitting the hardwood floors alerted my dad to my presence, as his head turned towards me, his eyes meeting mine.

"I can explain Jared." He said, his eyes showing fear as my breathing got heavier and I started shaking, which he had begun to notice happened when I got especially angry.

"I told you I'm not doing drugs!" I yelled back, running into the forest to relieve some steam.

"Jared!" I heard my mom's frantic call, as my siblings climbed out of the car, and immediately started chasing me.

"Where are you going?" Drew called as he and Dakota stumbled through the underbrush that I was flying through.

I snapped around and barked "Leave me the hell alone!" before running further into the forest, barely registering the changes in my vision, hearing and sense of smell.

I paused as a headache assaulted me full force. I felt something snap in my head, then I registered a ton of pain. Grasping my head I fell to my knees, almost doubling over in pain. It felt like my bones were slowly being pulverized, and my muscles stretched beyond their limits.

My eyes were clenched shut as the sound of tearing cloth hit my ears before I cried out in pain, only A wolf's howl resonated through the air instead of a humane scream.

As I slowly pried my eyes open, I felt that I was on all fours. I tried to stand up, but I fell back to the ground. I slowly glanced at the ground to see two brown paws in the place of my hands.

I looked around-I must be dreaming… That's it! This is all just one big nightmare!

As I surveyed my surroundings, I noticed the little things that I usually would've missed, like the intricate designs of the bark and moss on the trees' trunks, hell I could just about identify every strand of moss on every damn tree!

"Jared?" I heard Dakota's call. I turned around, and met my little sister's big brown eyes. She stared at me for all of about three seconds before releasing the most bloodcurdling scream I'd ever heard-screaming bloody murder hardly gives this scream justice.

Dakota took off back towards the house at the same time as I ran further into the forest.

My anger completely forgotten after I don't know how long, I just curled up into a ball under a tree as rain started to fall, soaking my fur.

_I'm a freak, how can I face anyone ever again? Drew, Dakota, mom…_

I pressed my muzzle into my fur as I fell into an uneasy sleep.

I woke up to a voice in my head, and something prodding my side.

_"Come on Jared, please wake up."_

_Now I know I'm crazy-I'm hearing voices in my head _I thought as my eyes slowly drifted open, and I pulled my muzzle out of my soaking fur.

I looked behind me, to where something was prodding me, to see a black wolf poking me with it's muzzle, sniffing occasionally.

_Good god, now I know I'm dead._

_"Jared? You're awake, good."_

That voice sounded a lot like Sam's… Too bad I'll never be able to see my friend again-I'm going to be eaten.

_"I would never eat my best friend."_

I turned my head around again, and found the black wolf staring right at me. I flinched away as it moved closer towards my head. _Dear god, please let it kill me quickly…_

_"Jared, look at me-it's me, Sam."_

I hesitantly opened my eyes again, and saw the black wolf staring me down.

_"Look at my eyes Jared-who do they belong to?"_

I focused on the wolf's eyes, and sure enough, Sam's eyes were staring back at me.

_"Sam?"_

The wolf nodded.

_"Why are we both wolves… Oh god, what will my parents think…"_

_"Calm down Jared-I'll tell you everything I know…"_

Sam did-he told me about all of the legends, and about the cold ones. He also told me that what had happened to me were the signs of someone else becoming like us.

It took me a few days to change back, and when I started going back to school, I noticed Paul showing the same symptoms that I had.

Granted being a wolf was cool, but my parents got suspicious when I would never be home at night after disappearing for a few weeks.

Paul phased about a month after I first phased, and Embry after Paul.

We started being called a cult around the time Embry joined us.

One by one the pack gained members, until Jacob phased; after him, no one else showed the signs of phasing.

Bella phasing was a surprise, and Nix's brother as well.

We can't do anything about the life we've been given, so why don't we just have fun with it?

~*~X~*~

Next chapter is a plot chapter, so look forward to it!

**Fun Fact #5 - **I got addicted to Twilight last Halloween, and New Moon inspired my first NaNoWriMo novel.

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	43. Innocence Isn't Forever

Disclaimer: This chapter is 90% my own-the only parts that I don't own out of this chapter are the characters and wolves, which belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 42 Innocence Isn't Forever (LiPOV)

~*~X~*~

~**September**~

My brother and I had just received our schedules for this year. As we walked out of the office, we were ambushed by every member of the pack still in school-Jacob, Seth, Leah, Embry, Quil, Nix and Bella.

Just beyond them, we could see Jared dropping off his younger siblings-Drew and Dakota. Today was their first day as freshmen, as was mine. Granted, Danny and I have it much worse off, since we just transferred here.

Both Danny and I are living with our cousins now, because of Leah's imprint on Danny, and my ability to read double presences, thusly allowing me to determine who is close to phasing.

Now about that-Danny's double presence hasn't gotten any stronger or weaker, but two of the other presences have gotten considerably stronger. In fact, they're almost as strong as those of the rest of the pack.

I still can't believe that mom and dad are just letting me and Danny stay here… They must know more than they're letting on.

"Hey Liza!"

I snapped out of my speculation, to see Jared waving me over. I glanced at Nix nervously, but he was already taking off with Danny, comparing their schedules.

Everyone else had already dispersed, so I was forced to see what Jared wanted.

"What Jared?" I paused midstep-I could feel another double presence. I glanced around me quickly, before focusing on Jared's little brother, who was talking with the two boys who were exerting a strong double presence.

"Liza?"

I snapped back towards Jared, a false smile on my face.

"Everything's fine Jared." I said after I gulped.

Jared leaned forward, speaking into my ear "Tell one of the others when you get the chance."

I nodded my response.

"Well anyway, Liza this is my little sister Dakota. When I started high school, I needed a friend, and I found friends in Sam and Paul." Jared had a far-off look in his eyes "I just want you guys to know someone else here…"

Dakota pulled at Jared's pantleg. Jared crouched, and Dakota whispered something in his ear.

"Yes, I want you to be nice to her…" he was cut off by the bell "See ya after school Dakota!" Jared called as he ran off, leaving Dakota and I caught in the middle of the crowd rushing towards the entrance.

~*~X~*~

Orientation went smoothly-All of us freshmen were paired with an upperclassman, and we didn't really do anything all that exciting today. During lunch I pulled Nix and Danny from the crowd, dragging them outside with the rest of the pack following.

"What's wrong Liza?" Danny asked worriedly.

I peeked into the cafeteria, and quickly found the two that were radiating two strong double presences.

"Those two are really close to phasing." I said pointing at the two boys "And the one they're talking to has a faint presence."

Everyone looked at who I was pointing at, before turning back to me.

"How strong are the presences in Colin and Brady?" Seth asked "What? They're virtually my neighbors…"

"It's really strong-almost as strong as the presences in all of you."

Everyone exchanged nervous glances.

"Then we'll have to set them off." Embry stated "We can't wait anymore-we can't risk them phasing in public."

"What about Drew?" Jacob questioned. Noting my confusion, he continued "The person Colin and Brady are talking to…"

"The presence is faint, but it's definitely there."

~*~(JPOV)~*~

Damn. Those three are only freshmen-they shouldn't be dragged into this! But we have no choice! If we want to keep our existence a secret and prevent the secret service from hauling all of us away, we have to force them to phase!

Granted, we do have to figure out a way to get them to phase in the first place…

"What's up Jake?" Bella asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"Uh nothing Bella."

"I think I've known you long enough to know when something's on your mind Jake."

"It's nothing."

"No it's not."

"Fine!" I give up!

**_Why are you letting her tell you what to do! You're the alpha, order her to leave you alone!_**

_Have you forgotten that I'm not the freaking alpha? _

**_How could I forget? I hate being ordered around by that wannabe! Damnit! We're supposed to be the ones running this joint!_**

_Will you just get off it? I don't want to be alpha, and nothing will change it!_

**_Why won't you even think about it! It'd be a blast-everyone would have to do what you said…_**

_I don't want them to follow me just because I'm the alpha! I want them to follow me because they want to!_

**_Hah! You just admitted that you wanted to be alpha!_**

_W-what? No I didn't!_

**_You totally did! I got you to admit to wanting your birthright!_**

_Shut up!_

"Jake?" I blinked twice, shutting my wolf out.

"Hm?"

"You zoned out on me. What happened?"

"Oh… My wolf just decided to barge into my head."

"What did he say?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Okay then, what were you thinking about before your wolf so rudely interrupted?"

**_Hmph._**

_Just be quiet._

"I was just thinking about how we have to force Colin and Brady to phase…"

"Do you know either of them?"

"Yeah."

"Which one?"

"Colin-he's my cousin."

~*~X~*~

As soon as the bell rang, Bella and I intercepted Colin and Brady before they could meet up with Drew. It wasn't all that hard to do, seeing as they followed Bella like moths to a flame. I'd love to see what they think of her once they phase.

We lead them into the forest, where we met Embry, Seth, Nix, Leah, Quil, Danny and Liza. I'm honestly surprised that Danny and Liza were keeping up with us...

Colin and Brady both started to get nervous as more and more of us joined our little procession. After all, I would be scared too if eight burly seniors were flanking me, guiding me into the forest.

I called Jared during lunch, to ensure that he, Sam, Paul and Dustin were here to help us with these two.

Dustin emerged out of the undergrowth first, and he immediately gravitated towards Nix, Danny, Liza and Leah.

Sam and Paul came soon after, but Jared was nowhere to be seen. Sam took the head, and started guiding us in a different direction. Paul and Dustin started giving Colin and Brady threatening looks, and they started secreting a ton of fear-scent.

We soon broke into a small clearing where a brown wolf stood-Jared. Sam and Paul broke off from the tip of our group, the rest of us also peeling off.

I suddenly realized how they had planned to make them phase-shock! That's what triggered both Bella's and Seth's first phases, so couldn't it be done again?

The two boys were cowering as Jared stalked closer towards them. Sam and Paul both snuck off into the forest.

Jared bared his teeth and growled as the rest of us slowly backed into the forest.

"J-Jacob?" Colin stuttered as he glanced at me.

I ignored him, and we all disappeared into the greenery, out of the boy's sight. Then a dark silver wolf-Paul stalked out of the woods and started circling Brady and Colin.

The boys were shaking in fear, stemming from having two horse-sized wolves stalking them like they would their prey.

When a black wolf-Sam, leaped out of the bushes, the boys both let out screams of mortal terror that slid into wolves' howls.

The deed had been done. I stripped my shorts and phased-needing to at least make sure that my cousin was okay.

~*~X~*~

Next time we're learning about Nix and all of his emotional trauma.

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	44. Remembering Our Past Nix

Now for the OC that I'm way too emotionally invested in-Nix!

So... I have a few questions for all of you, and I'll try to ask one question for each character, and I really want to know what you guys think about these questions.

Disclaimer: This chapter is 98% straight out of my head- the only part of this chapter that Stephanie Meyer holds the rights to is the concept of phasing and imprinting.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 43 Remembering Our Past-Nix (NPOV)

~*~X~*~

~**October**~

So much has happened since we moved here last year-and now I don't have to follow the ridiculous roadmap to the future my father had planned for me-I _can't_.

Being a wolf is cool and all-I love wolves, and being able to transform into one is awesome! Also much like most members of the pack, I can brag about my one trait that soars above everyone else's. For me, my sense of balance and acrobatics is second to none, Jared's eyesight is unmatchable, no one can ever hope to beat Leah in a race, and many others traits that everyone else has.

Now it's hard to believe that all of this might not have happened, not that I'm happy that it did in fact happen-the cost just hit too hard to home for me…

From what Danny and my mom have told me, I would compare my life after the accident to how Bella was after Jake phased.

Granted, I didn't run to a coven of vampires when I started to fall into depression, but we weren't that much different.

~*~(Nix Flashback/Narration)~*~

All of my problems with my dad really started after my mom had me skip school to spend the entire day with Dustin before he was shipped off god knows where in the World to fight for America.

I suppose this is as good a place as any to start…

"Dustin!" A smaller version of me screamed, as I ran away from my mother, and towards the green camo-clad man looking sad.

Dustin's face lit up as he turned around as I barreled into him, latching onto him like a leech on exposed skin.

"Shouldn't you be in school Nix?"

"Mom took me out today." I mumbled as I rubbed my face into the rough material of his jacket.

"That's nice…"

"NIX!" A deep voice boomed, so loud that all of the other soldiers turned their heads.

I flinched-I knew what was going to happen next… A sharp pain shot through the back of my head as a resonating snap of skin smacking skin echoed throughout the room.

"Why did you do that dad!" Dustin shouted at our father; tears beginning to gather at the corners of my eyes.

"He cut school-that's why! He should be learning everything he needs to become an engineer, not out frolicking about with you!"

"I'm shipping out today dad!" Dustin shouted back "Can't he see me one last time, before I come back in a wooden box!"

I couldn't believe that Dustin was actually expecting to die out there. The thought of Dustin dying in the desert by itself caused the tears to overflow their banks.

"See what you did dad!" Dustin continued as he started stroking the back of my head.

I calmed down a little, but when Dustin had to leave, my tears came again-I didn't know if I would ever see him again.

In the days following Dustin's departure, I just dropped most of my homework. My dad just assumed that I finished the work at school. He got a wake-up call when I came home with a big, bold red '73%' on a science test.

My dad started getting mildly abusive after he saw that test. I was so close to getting rid of it too! There was already a small fire started in a metal barrel, and I was just about to throw it into the flame when it was snatched out of my hands.

A long, drawn-out silence followed. I braced myself for what was surely coming, and sure enough, a sharp pain shot through the back of my head.

"A 'C'! WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST MONTH! HM!"

Granted my dad's yelling caused my mom to come out, who snatched me out of my dad's death grip, and drove me to my cousin's house.

"Just stay here for a while Nix. I'll deal with your father." My mom kissed me before I got out of the car and walked to the door of my cousin's house. The door opened before I was even halfway up the walk, and Danny came running out, meeting me in a hug.

"Hey Nix…" He whispered in my ear, as I heard my mom's car drive away.

I wrapped my arms around Danny's body and leaned into his shoulder, tears starting to escape from my eyes.

"We're going for a walk mom!" Danny shouted a while later.

A muffled 'don't be too long' came as a reply and Danny turned me around and started dragging me down the street.

Spending time with Danny always calmed me down; I don't know why but… It's almost as if Danny radiated calmness or something.

After spending the weekend with them, I had to go back to my own house. I never really had to pack when I visited my cousins-Danny and I wore the same size everything: Socks, shoes, shirts, pants, you name it and we wore the exact same size. Heck at school everyone thinks we're brothers.

We share the same complexion, black hair and forest green eyes. Hell, we even had the same build, facial features and muscle definition! It was almost as if we were clones of each other! In fact, the only real differences between us were our personalities and my uncanny sense of balance.

I always dumped all of my troubles on Dustin, and I still would write him a few letters a month, keeping him updated on how dad was torturing me, but for the most part, Danny turned into my shoulder to cry on. That was even more so reinforced when my dad told me that I couldn't write to Dustin anymore-that he wanted to be left alone. Again, I spent the weekend at my aunt and uncle's house.

My sophomore year, we got a transfer student from Oregon, and we had almost all the same classes, both me, Danny and her.

Of course I'd heard the rumors about how hot she was, but I paid them absolutely no mind-I never cared much for gossip, and I really wasn't looking for anything at the moment-I was perfectly content with my place in the world. All of that changed when my gaze met her perfect hazel eyes during first period. I swear it was like love at first sight for both of us. She gave me a small smile, and took the seat next to me over all of the other open seats in class.

She did the same thing in every class-took the seat closest to me. All of the jocks took the hint during third period-she wasn't interested in them. She didn't care about all of the trophies that they've gotten, or all of the plaques and times they've gone to state-she was interested in me; little old me.

I learned her name during lunch-Cymoril. She had long brown hair pulled into a ponytail with two locks framing either side of her face, her bangs barely reaching her eyebrows.

Homecoming was just over a week away, and I wanted to ask Cymoril, but I was so nervous that I ended up waiting until six days before the date to ask. When I finally did ask, she said yes, throwing her arms around me and kissing my cheek before asking what took me so long.

"I-I was just nervous?" I stuttered.

"Why? You know that I would've said yes…"

I couldn't respond-I was still shocked that she kissed me.

Then she whispered in my ear "I'm wearing light blue. Match me." before skipping off, seemingly in her own world.

In the days that followed, I learned that her favorite color was light blue-something about us that matched. As the school year went on, I wrote to Dustin once telling him about Cymi.

Cymi eventually took Danny's place as my psychiatrist-I felt like I could tell her anything and she would still like me, no matter what.

We were the only couple to last all through our sophomore year-still going as strong at the end of the year as we were when we finally got together back in October.

I continued to vent to Cymi over the summer; she was always there to listen, I felt that this would last a long time-maybe forever.

That was all changed one day when I walked into the house after a day of hanging with my few non-Cymi friends, Danny included; when I caught my dad forging my signature on a stack of college applications. I silently picked up a few off the top of the stack, and saw that on each and every freaking application there was my signature, forged by my dad.

I stood there shell-shocked, only coming to when the applications fell out of my hand.

My dad turned around, and I swear that I was seeing red. I stormed out of the house, and hastily called Cymi. She said that she would just meet me at the park-as she was already there walking her dogs with her bother.

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want your brother to walk your dogs all alone…"

"Don't worry-he doesn't mind. He understands what you're going through Nix…"

"Are you sure it's okay?"

"Yep. See you soon?"

"Yep. Love you."

"Love you too."

Granted by the time I got at the park, my anger had almost boiled over, and we just spent the time talking about the next school year.

It was dark by the time we had finally exhausted our seemingly endless possibilities of what could happen, and I started to drive her home when I suddenly remembered why I had even wanted to talk with Cymi in the first place. I glanced over at her for a brief second, before my body jerked forward and the sounds of tearing metal and breaking glass assaulted my ears. I don't remember much, but I do remember the distinct smell of blood.

A bright light assaulted my closed eyes, and scrunching them tighter together, I slowly opened them as I realized that the light couldn't be blocked. The pure white of the room shocked me for a second, before my aching eyes slowly closed again.

"Nix? Please open your eyes." A voice that seemed so familiar coaxed.

I willed my eyes open, and I was met with the forest green gaze that I knew all so well. "Danny?" I asked, my voice scratchy and dry.

"You're awake!" Danny cried as he nuzzled his face in my neck. We stayed like that for a while.

When Danny finally stood up straight, I asked the question that I was dying to ask "Cymi?"

Danny's face dropped as soon as the question was off my lips.

"D-did Cymi…"

"I'm sorry Nix, it's just that… She was slipping away and in so much pain… Everyone just thought that she shouldn't have to suffer, so they…"

"Just tell me Danny…" I whispered.

"She… She left five minutes ago."

A sharp pain racked my body, and I could faintly hear the beeps of my heart monitor get quicker and closer together.

I didn't say goodbye, I would never be able to say goodbye… The love of my life was gone, gone forever-for how long I was certain that we would be together…

In the days following the accident Danny was constantly at my side-he was the only one who could keep me calm.

I had only suffered a few minor scrapes and bruises along with a broken arm, while Cymi on the other hand suffered from quite a few deep cuts, a broken leg, a broken arm, and a few broken ribs.

When I woke up the day after I woke up, Danny had a glasses case in his hand. He silently handed it to me, and I flipped it open. There amongst the midnight blue silk were Cymi's ice blue framed glasses, the lenses perfect and pristine.

"She… Wanted you to have those, she told me before they…" Danny was looking away from me, but I didn't need to see his eyes to know the sorrow that they held-I could hear it in his voice. We were both pretty stoic when it came to emotional things, but we knew what to look and listen for in each other; it just comes with being raised like brothers I guess.

I flat out cried myself to sleep.

A few days later, I was released from the hospital. The news of our car crash had already spread throughout almost the entire student body, as school had started the day after the crash happened.

I got sympathetic looks everywhere I went. We were the only couple to survive the school year, and yet we couldn't pull it out to a one-year anniversary. Everyone knew how in love we were, and everyone, I mean everyone seemed to share in my pain. Heck, the staff were easy on me and Danny's schedule got reshuffled so that we would have all of our classes together, save for band. And in band, I got elected as president of the band council while I was away.

Each of my teachers loaned me their notes for the week I had missed, and I somehow ended up captain of the tennis team, even though I couldn't play for at least two more months.

My grades slipped a few points, but I still diligently worked through all of my classes; mainly out of fear of what would happen if I got less than a four point oh.

My arm was fully healed a month and a half later, surprising the doctors along with my newfound muscle mass. I had absolutely no idea where the lean muscle came from. It just appeared out of nowhere.

Then one day when I came home, everything was in cardboard boxes and was being moved into a movers truck.

The next day we were en route to La Push.

The more I think about Cymi, and the attraction we both felt for each other, and the affection Sam has for Emily, I think that my wolf, even though still dormant, recognized it's mate-my imprint.

~*~X~*~

Now's your chance to have a say in the story!

Embry: Should Tiffany know about the wolves? Who should his father be?

Sam: Should he be able to somehow break his imprint with Emily?

Jared: Should Drew phase? Should Dakota be someone's imprint?

Nix: Should Nix be able to imprint? Was Cymoril his imprint? Do you want to see him visit her grave?

Dustin: What should his specialty (in the army) be?

Seth: [No Questions]

Quil: Do you want him to imprint on Claire?

Leah: [No Questions]

Paul: What do you want to see through his eyes (back story and otherwise)?

Bella: Should she ever mend her relationship with Charlie?

Liza: How do you think her ability works? Do you think that her ability is interesting?

Danny: What sort of interactions would you like to see between him and Nix? Do you think that he and Nix are actually brothers?

Jacob: Do you think he should imprint? Should he ever step up as alpha? Who would he have as beta? Third?

Also, I **need** ideas for a salutatorian's speech. If you give me an idea, then I'll pm you an excerpt of the speech when I finally write it.

People who answer **all** of the questions will receive the updated prelude.

Thank you for your time *bows*

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	45. Remembering Our Past Dustin

Here's the next chapter, but I'm wondering if you guys are enjoying these chapters? I like them, but I want your opinions.

Disclaimer: 99% straight out of my head, the only part that Stephanie Meyer owns from this chapter is the concept of phasing.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 44 Remembering Our Past-Dustin (DustinPOV)

~*~X~*~

To think that I left one war and was thrown into another so quickly, and the circumstances couldn't be any more different.

Going from a brown desert to a lush green forest, and from shooting guns to fighting with fang and claw as a wolf…

This world really is just full of mysteries, isn't it?

~*~(Dustin Flashback/Narration)~*~

Saying goodbye to Nix was one of the hardest things I've ever done; second only to telling him that I was going to join the military.

Once we got off the plane wherever the hell we were, we were each given our issued weapon. I received a standard issue M40 sniper rifle.

Yes, I was a sniper, and a pretty damn good one too. I could pick off targets well beyond the scope's range with deadly accuracy due to my eyesight, which was attributed to my wolf wanting to come out, but not having any trigger. After all, if you were a vampire, why would you be wandering around in the middle of the desert where you'd sparkle as bright as a disco ball?

Anyway, I was in a squad with a few of the friends I made at bootcamp. We moved around a lot-we were the best sniper team deployed at the moment, never missing a target. During our off-time, we spent almost every waking moment with each other, much like we do in the wolfpack-Sam, Jared, Paul and I usually spar with each other while everyone else is at school.

Well, about five months into the tour, I started gaining muscle. It built up at such a slow rate, that it was just knocked off as me working out. I just laughed along with them, but I knew that I didn't work out as frequently as one would need to put on that much muscle consistently.

After a few more months, I started getting fewer and fewer letters from Nix. Those letters were what reassured me that I still had a home to go back to when my tour was over.

Eventually, those letters stopped entirely. That's also when my temper started going downhill. What didn't bug me before got on my every nerve, like the annoying clicking of the small air conditioner in Colonel Skaflestad's office tent thing.

From then on, I would get angry at the smallest things, sometimes I got so angry that I would start to shake.

All of my outbursts stopped the day I got a letter from Nix, saying that he had a girlfriend, and he really thought that they would stay together. Nix was always so reserved and cautious, so I was surprised that he even built up the courage to talk to her, let alone ask her out.

Then one day, I got an urgent phone call from my mom. They usually never let these calls through unless it truly is urgent, so I left the football game the guys in my squad were playing to take the call.

"Hello?"

"Dustin? Is that you?" My mom's voice sounded more strained than usual, as if she were fighting to conceal her emotions.

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"N-Nix…" My mom broke into loud sobs.

"What about Nix?" I was starting to feel uneasy-what happened to my little brother that couldn't be explained via letter?

"H-he's in the h-hospital…" she mumbled something else, but I couldn't distinguish what she said from her sobs; not that I was paying attention anyway-I was frozen. My little brother was in the hospital, probably because of something dad did.

At that point, word had already spread to my squad that something big had happened. They were all peaking in through the tent flap, watching me stand as still as a statue, the earpiece attached to my ear.

I heard some shuffling in the background, before my cousin's voice replaced my mother's crying "Dustin? You still there?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Nix isn't the only one in the hospital" Great. Who else is there? Liza? Dad?

"Who else is there?"

"Cymi."

I was shocked. Both Nix and his girlfriend were in the hospital. I could guess where this was going-one or both of them were on death row "Please tell me they're both okay…" I knew I was being slightly too optimistic, but I didn't need to make my teammates worry about me more than they already were.

"Cymi, She's… She's not going to make it, and Nix is… He's in a mild coma. She wants to stay to say goodbye to him, but she's in so much pain that it doesn't look like she'll last 'til he wakes up…"

"How much longer 'til Nix wakes up and she leaves?"

"They estimate that Cymi can survive about thirty-two more hours before the pain will be too great for her body to handle, and they're giving Nix a generous estimate of twenty to forty-eight more hours, with it most likely being in the high thirties…"

How Danny could keep his voice so calm was beyond me, but then again both he and Nix were always so stoic about everything-never letting their emotions get the best of them. I just wonder how much longer Nix'll be able to keep his stoic mask.

"Thanks Danny, keep me posted."

"Sure cuz…"

I dropped the satellite phone onto Colonel Skaflestad's desk before collapsing to my knees. How could my little brother be in the hospital?

During our target practice the next day, I missed the target every single time in all three rounds. Colonel Skaflestad somehow learned that my aim was horrid today, and pulled me out of the practice, assuming that it had something to do with the phone call I'd gotten the day before.

"At ease Private." Colonel Skaflestad dismissed. Once I had relaxed somewhat, she beckoned me closer with her finger, waving the other officers in the tent out as I approached. "Now I know that this might just be an off day for you Private, but what happened that has you missing every shot that you're taking?" the Colonel asked in her soothing tone, meaning that she wasn't looking to rat me out or anything-she was just trying to see what was wrong.

"M-my little brother and his girlfriend are in the hospital Colonel."

"And what's wrong with them?"

"I don't know ma 'am; but she's not going to make it, and my brother is comatose…" It hurt to talk about it-I knew that this wasn't going to end well for my little brother.

"Oh dear. Are you expecting another call anytime soon?"

"Only if something big happens…"

"Alright…" She scribbled something down on a piece of paper, before calling for one of the officers outside the tent "Gunny!"

"Yes Colonel?"

"Take this to the com center."

"Yes Ma 'am." The gunny saluted before taking the recently signed piece of paper to our com center.

"Private, you're not to participate in any exercises or scouts until this issue is settled."

"Thank you ma 'am…"

"And another thing, I suggest you get some sleep now while you can, because that order just authorized any and all calls for you to come through."

"Th…"

"Go get some rest Private-that's an order! Dismissed!"

"Yes Mad 'am." I saluted before going back to my bunk, though I doubt that I'll actually sleep.

I was prodded awake by a finger jabbing my side. "Hey Dustin, the colonel wants to see you. She says it's urgent…"

My eyes shot open as my friend relayed those four words. I shot out of bed and got dressed in record time, not even noticing that it was dark outside. Once outside, I jogged to the Colonel's tent, and stuck my head in before fully entering.

The Colonel had the phone to her ear, and none of the officers were present. Once she saw me, she said something into the phone, before extending it towards me.

I shakily accepted the phone as if it would break if I held it too tightly. My hand was still shaking as I held the earpiece to my ear "Hello?"

"Dustin?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Nix woke up."

"Really?" My spirits started to lift, but Danny's voice still held a sense of melancholy.

"Yeah-twenty-five hours since the last call, but…"

"What?"

"Cymi passed not even five minutes before he woke up-they never had a chance to say goodbye…"

For the second time in thirty-six hours, I froze in my place.

"He's not taking it too well-he just fell asleep, and I called as soon as I could…"

I couldn't speak. I moved my mouth but no sound came out-my brother had just lost his first love without even saying goodbye…

"Dustin?"

Judging from the look on Colonel Skaflestad's face as she gently removed the phone from my hand, she must've put the pieces together from the expression on my face, or Danny told her before I got here.

"Danny? Yeah, this is Amanda. Tell your cousin that I'm really sorry for his loss, and that I'll try to get Dustin some leave as soon as I can okay?... Yeah, having him call might be a good idea…. Dustin's not looking too good here... No, I'm not going to deploy him-he'd just waste bullets with the way his aim is at the moment..." She laughed a little "Yep…Give her parents and your cousin my condolences…Bye bye honey." She shut the phone and turned to me. "I mean what I told your cousin-I'm going to get you home one way or another."

Granted, the Colonel couldn't get me home 'one way or another'. With each failed attempt, my temper came back, slowly gaining momentum until I was back to shaking when I got angry.

I started having violent outbursts, slowly getting more violent. The higher-ups were starting to notice, but the Colonel just brushed it all under the rug, passing it off as 'stemming from the recent tragedy my brother went through' and used it as ammo for getting me leave.

She just about had me a month leave, when a particularly violent outburst left the infirmary full of soldiers with black eyes and a few cracked bones.

That was the final straw with the higher-ups, and I was en route for a court marshal, when Colonel Skaflestad negotiated me getting discharged, stating that my outbursts were only going to get more and more violent from there on out.

Her reasoning worked, and I was discharged from the United States Army the next week and on a plane bound for Washington.

When I arrived at our old house, I was greeted with a sales agent asking me if I was looking to buy. When I told her that I actually lived there, 'Allison' just laughed and said that the house had been on the market for about six months, and the bids on it just kept going up.

I then went to Aunt Kristen and Uncle Brian's, to find out that dad forced them to move when Nix's grades started to slip after Cymi's death. Like he wouldn't expect Nix to fall into depression after his girl died-they were in love! A pure, true love that was untainted by greed and lust…

Well, I left for La Push a few days before them, as I didn't want to wait for the ferry. Granted, it took the same amount of time to drive there as taking the ferry a few days later would've taken, but I made it there none the less.

The rest of the story, you already know.

~*~X~*~

Next chapter's about Seth!

Now's your chance to have a say in the story!

Embry: Should Tiffany know about the wolves? Who should his father be?

Sam: Should he be able to somehow break his imprint with Emily?

Jared: Should Drew phase? Should Dakota be someone's imprint?

Nix: Should Nix be able to imprint? Was Cymoril his imprint? Do you want to see him visit her grave?

Dustin: What should his specialty (in the army) be?

Quil: Do you want him to imprint on Claire?

Paul: What do you want to see through his eyes (back story and otherwise)? Should he imprint on Rachel?

Bella: Should she ever mend her relationship with Charlie?

Liza: How do you think her ability works? Do you think that her ability is interesting?

Danny: What sort of interactions would you like to see between him and Nix? Do you think that he and Nix are actually brothers?

Jacob: Do you think he should imprint? Should he ever step up as alpha? Who would he have as beta? Third?

Also, I **need** ideas for a salutatorian's speech. If you give me an idea, then I'll pm you an excerpt of the speech when I finally write it.

Anyone who answers every single question above will receive a shout-out in chapter 57, and those of you who give me ideas for the salutatorian's speech will get a shout-out in chapter 58.

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	46. Remembering Our Past Seth

Hey, now it's time for us to see inside Seth's head!

This is where 'the accident' is actually explained.

I actually really like this chapter-this is for all of you who were reading the prelude with a dumb look on your face going "Wha?" (You know who you are)

Disclaimer: I own only that which is not directly connected to the Twilight saga (OCs and some plot stuff). Everything else belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 45 Remembering Our Past-Seth (SPOV)

~*~X~*~

~**November**~

We've all been together for a long time now…

In the beginning, everything was so simple-there were no werewolves or vampires, there was just Jake, Embry, Bella and I-four friends that could only be separated by our parents, but now we're werewolves and Bella and Embry have problems with their parents.

Really, how we all met was destiny-just four little kids playing in the mud…

~*~(Seth Flashback/Narration)~*~

It was the Summer after Jake's mom had died, and Bella had left her mom behind and moved in with her dad-who was still Forks' chief of police at the time. Bella, Jake, Embry and I were unseperatable, or at least until our parents came calling.

As soon as all four of us had hit it off when we were like five, Charlie had hunted down Embry's and Quil's mothers, and gave them through interrogations, before determining that their children wouldn't be a bad influence on Bella. Granted, Bella hated Quil, but it was more of a sibling hate, or at least until he threw that ball of mud at her that one day at the beach…

"Bewwa!" Quil whined as he was chasing her around the beach, Jake, Embry and I also in hot pursuit of the 'Wunning Swan'.

"No!" she shrieked as Quil tripped, causing her to laugh and stumble and do a face plant in the sand, only she got up much faster and braced for her impact, while Quil's face was covered in sand. "Quwil?" Bella wondered as she wandered closer to him, noticing that we had stopped chasing her.

I saw Quil gather a ball of sand in his hands, before throwing it at an unsuspecting Bella.

Bella flew backwards a few feet, and sat on the sand crying. "Jewerk!" She wailed amongst her tears.

Charlie came running, and we didn't see much of her for a couple weeks-the only reassurance we got that she wasn't dead was the few times Jake had visited her with Billy.

When Bella finally started coming back to play with us, she would avoid Quil like the plague, and would stay completely silent. At least until Quil left. This was the way things went, until Renee-Bella's mom tore her away from us by moving to Phoenix with her.

Besides the occasional phone call, email chain, or her summer visits, we never heard from Bella.

That all changed the week after my twelfth birthday-the day Jake's mom died.

Bella surprised us-running into the Black's house after Charlie, immediately latching onto Jake.

In the following months, Bella and Quil mended their friendship to that of a love/hate brother/sister relationship.

We were met with another surprise when Bella revealed to us that she wasn't going back to her mom-she was staying here, with Charlie.

Then the Summer of our thirteenth birthdays, Jake, Embry and I all did something really stupid-we had a race along the base of one of the rocky cliff faces along the beach, Bella trailing along behind. We never noticed when Bella tripped, or when she stopped following us.

"Bella?" Jake called out. We didn't even notice that Bella wasn't keeping up with us. Heck, we didn't know when Bella had started to fall behind.

Silence met us as we ran back down the beach the way we came. The scent of blood assaulted our noses as we came to a curve in the rock in an area where the sand was covering a few rocks at the base of the cliff, but nothing all that dangerous.

We also saw the sand stained crimson before we saw Bella's body, face down in the sand, bleeding from a deep gash on her arm.

"Bella!" Jake cried out as he rushed to her side, trying to wake her up.

"Jake, why don't you go get your dad and we can bring her back to the car?" Embry suggested. Normally Charlie would've been with us, but he had to go to some convention in Olympia and couldn't be gotten a hold of-the only time Bella had talked to him in the past few days was when he called her.

Jake nodded slightly and took off down the beach while Embry and I both pulled our shirts off-neither of us had the brawn to tear them off, but we would have if we could-strips would be better to wrap around the wound than a whole shirt. Embry roughly cleaned the wound with his shirt, the gash still spewing blood.

Once the sand was mostly gone, I wrapped my shirt around the crevasse in Bella's skin, before gently tying a knot on the other side of her arm. Embry gently eased his arms under her shoulders while I secured her arms on her chest before picking up her legs.

Embry and I trotted slowly back along the cliff face, noticing a small trail of blood trailing from a rock jutting from the ground stained crimson. Once we reached where Billy and Jake were waiting, we saw Tiffany and Sue also waiting for us, worry etched across their faces.

Embry, Jake and I all rode with Bella to Forks hospital in Tiffany's car, Embry's mother driving about ten miles over the speed limit. I'm surprised that we were never caught when any of our parents speed, but I guess when your best friend's father is the chief of police, your parents can get away woth a lot of things…

My mom shoved us out of the car in front of the emergency room, and all three of us struggled to carry Bella inside, and her wound was dripping blood everywhere-Jake had added his shirt to the makeshift bandage, and even his shirt was soaked through.

The nurses quickly took Bella from us and wheeled her into some room, leaving all of us to just wait.

Mom and Billy walked into the lobby about ten minutes after us bearing new shirts. We each slipped one on before continuing our waiting game.

Our parents left to get dinner in the hospital cafeteria about a half hour later, and a doctor came out and approached us. We were all dreading the news that was surely coming-that we were too late, that Bella was dead.

The news that came wasn't as bad as we thought-Bella just needed a blood transfusion, but the doctor didn't have access to as much O- blood as Bella would need, so we had to donate our blood. Granted, none of us were the same blood type, but Bella needed the blood so bad that it didn't matter. The doctor was amazed that the transfusion actually went off as well as it did, not to mention the fact that she hadn't rejected our blood.

Charlie came back the day after and just about had a heart attack when he saw Bella in her bed, Embry, Jake and I all asleep in various places around her room.

We did get a strict talking to by all of our parents, but nothing all that serious came from those talks.

After Leah, Quil and I phased, Jake was the only one left to hang out with Bella. Embry and I hoped that Jake wouldn't phase, but the signs were just so obvious-the increase in muscle mass and height, not to mention his shortened temper. We were freaking him out from the looks that we were giving him, and that was probably slowing down his first phase, but it was inevitable-Jake was going to phase. Once he did, Sam had to alpha order him to stay away from Bella. Jake was so upset that he almost stole the mantle of alpha from Sam.

Jake fell into a short state of minor depression at the same time as Bella, their emotions were so similar at the time that it was almost as if they were imprints or something. Jake got even more depressed when Bella started hanging out with the Cullens, but he was happy that Bella was at least coming out of her zombie phase.

We were all upset when Sam refused to protect Bella when the Cullens came to us, Jake almost lost it.

When the Cullens left again, I started worrying for Bella-they were the only things holding Bella together. That's the only thing I'm glad that the Cullens did. They held Bella together when we couldn't.

Bella's phasing shocked everyone, and the revelation that the blood transfusion all those years ago caused her to phase…

It's amazing how the cards fell… In our favor.

~*~X~*~

You guys are really going to hate me next chapter, but I enjoyed writing it *smirks deviously* (and tormenting you guys like that...) Oops! Did I say that out loud? *feigns innocence* *cue halo*

Now's your chance to have a say in the story by answering these questions about certain members of the wolfpack! (The bolded ones are new)

Embry: Should Tiffany know about the wolves? Who should his father be?

Sam: Should he be able to somehow break his imprint with Emily?

Jared: Should Drew phase? Should Dakota be someone's imprint? **Do you want to see more Jared interaction?**

Nix: Should Nix be able to imprint? Was Cymoril his imprint? Do you want to see him visit her grave? **Do you want to see Nix imprint?**

Quil: Do you want him to imprint on Claire? **Do you want to see more Quil?**

Paul: What do you want to see through his eyes (back story and otherwise)?** Should he imprint on Rachel?**

Bella: Should she ever mend her relationship with Charlie? **Do you want to see more Bella-Cullen interaction?**

Liza: How do you think her ability works? Do you think that her ability is interesting? **Do you want to see Liza phase? **

Danny: What sort of interactions would you like to see between him and Nix? Do you think that he and Nix are actually brothers?

Jacob: Do you think he should imprint? Should he ever step up as alpha? Who would he have as beta? Third?

If you have answered the

Also, I **need** ideas for a salutatorian's speech. If you give me any ideas, then you'll get a shout-out in chapter 57.

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	47. Analyzing the Past

Disclaimer: I only own that which is not recognizable. Everything else belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 46 Analyzing the Past (QuilPOV)

~*~X~*~

"Do I have to help grandpa, Sam?" I whined. My grandpa is a good person-he raised me like a father would his own son after my dad died. He was a father figure to me when I had no one to turn to, but now everyone expects me to take over as shaman! I don't even want to be the shaman! All he does is find the answers to all of the questions that the pack has by analyzing and cross examining all of our legends and the journals left from previous pack members that have withstood the flow of time.

I've tried to help my grandpa before, and he ended up doing most of the work-I ended up organizing all of the journals again.

"Yes Quil-You're doing the pack a great service by helping your grandpa."

"But I'll miss my patrol and training!" I actually enjoyed patrols-they let me push myself to my limits and feel the power of my wolf. I also enjoyed my wolf's company. He was just about the same as me in every regard, the only exception being he is much more… childish than I am.

**_Hey, I heard that!_**

"It's okay Quil-someone will cover you, and you're excused from this session."

"But Sam…"

"Do I have to alpha order you?"

I hung my head in defeat-damn alpha and his special abilities "Fine…"

Sam phased to go on patrol as soon as I started trudging out of his house. Why did I have to help grandpa? It's always me that has to go-the only time it wasn't me was before I phased and the first few weeks after I phased, and before that no one ever helped him! It's so unfair!

I decided to at least run for a little bit before being cooped up in a dusty attic for hours on end, so I stripped and phased in the woods, before running through the forest, my chocolate brown form weaving through the trees.

_"What are you doing?"_

_"Sheesh Sam, I need some exercise before being cooped up for half the day in a dusty attic."_

**_Damn straight._**

_"Alright but get over there soon-Old Quil is expecting you asap."_

_"Kay…"_

**_Do we have to go? I don't like being cooped up for so long._**

_Yeah, but the quicker we help grandpa with whatever he needs us for the faster we can get back into the foest…_

**_Will you let me take over once we get out of that hell hole? I haven't had been out in forever…_**

_It's only been two days!_

**_Yeah, and that was after another one of these sessions._**

_Fine, but I need to run today too._

**_Fine._**

I find it kinda funny how my wolf acts like a little kid when we're doing something we don't like…

**_I heard that too!_**

_Come off it will ya? You know it's true!_

He huffed while projecting a vivid image of gold eyes rolling into my mind. I shorted, and almost tripped over an exposed root in the process. My wolf laughed.

_Hey! That was your fault!_

**_Now who's childish?_**

_You…!_

**_We're almost there._**

_Hm? Oh yeah…right._

**_Let's just get this done quick kay?_**

_So you'll help me?_

**_Nope._**

_But you said…_

**_So? I meant we as in you. There is no me in we-you are we._**

_That doesn't even make any sense whatsoever!_

**_Exactly._**

_Damn wolf._

I phased back just within the tree line, and as I was pulling my shorts on I heard the sound of a few piles of books falling over.

"Great, now I have to sort even more!" I groaned. Usually I just pulled books from their places on the shelves and give them to grandpa to be leafed through before replacing them when he's done, and retrieving the same book again because grandpa forgot that he'd already looked through that particular tome. The first time I did this was the worst, as I had to sort each and every journal, document, tome, and legend in his small library into a system that I could understand, besides just 'what he used most often'.

I knocked on the pale wood of my grandpa's back door, hearing a faint 'Come in' before opening the door and stepping inside the fairly small cabin.

There was a musty smell that settled itself in my grandpa's house, probably because of all of the old tomes he had in his small library.

My grandpa has a cramped kitchen/dining room, two bedrooms, one of which has been turned into his library, a bathroom, and a decently sized living room, which the library is extended into.

"Hey grandpa, where are you?" I called into the house, my wolf already not liking the scent that hung inside the house.

"In the bedroom!"

My grandpa also turned his bedroom into a half office-the only thing that signifies that this was even a bedroom is the bed crammed in a corner.

As I walked into the room, I looked down, and sure enough there were a ton of books scattered all over the floor haphazardly-it was just as I suspected, a few piled of stuff had taken a tumble.

"What happened in here grandpa?" Might as well figure out what happened here before I get started.

"Well I just put this one tome on top of a stack, then they all just fell over."

"What were you looking for now?" I knew that he wouldn't have this much out of the library if it was just some pleasure search.

"Sue asked me to look for a way to break an imprint bond."

"Again? Didn't she just ask last week?"

"Yes she did, but she thinks that I missed something in the last twenty cross references I did."

**_Why won't that lady just give up-the alpha is taken and her daughter is happy, what else does she want?_**

_Glad we're on the same page for once._

**_For once! We're always on the same page!_**

_Really? What about and I quote 'wanting to claim that nice looking lady as my mate'? Hm?_

**_It's not my fault that she was a bitch! How am I supposed to know that when looking at people?_**

_Well you didn't need to make it seem like I imprinted on her for Christ's sake-Bella almost had a heart attack for crying out loud!_

**_So you want to imprint? I think I can pull that off…_**

_Please don't! I don't want to be tied to someone forever at eighteen!_

**_Sheesh, like anyone I pick would be the right one. We make mistakes too you know! I know that Sam's wolf regrets imprinting on Emily, but the damn alpha imprint forced him to!_**

_Woa…wait. Did you say alpha imprint?_

**_Crap. I said too much. Uh… Bye Quil!_**

With that my wolf fell silent.

_What do you mean 'Bye Quil'? I still have questions damnit!_

"Quil?"

"Hm…? What?"

"Could you refile these while I go out and get some groceries?"

"Uh, sure grandpa. Do you need someone to go with you? I'm sure one of us would be happy to accompany you…"

"No, please don't bother-I'm going with Sue. I'm going to tell her that there's nothing that we could do to break an imprint."

"Kay."

A few minutes later grandpa left to talk to Sue and buy groceries.

As I was sorting the various books into those that were legends, journals from pack members and imprints, and elders, I found a journal that was lying open on the floor, opened to a seemingly random page. I looked at the cover to see that it was a tome left by one of the previous elders from a generation probably long forgotten.

I felt my wolf start to get a little restless, so I set the tome aside, resolving to leaf through it later. I had finished refiling all of the other books and grandpa still wasn't home, so I decided to leaf through the tome.

It became apparent to me early on that the tome was written by a shaman, and one who was very good at cross-examining at that. There were simple questions written at the top of one page, followed by pages of explanation just answering the simple question, referring to previous packs whose journals were probably long ago eaten by time.

I was just about to put the tome back in it's place on the shelf when a question flashed past my eyes 'Can you break an imprint?' The first few pages were a very elaborate way of saying 'no', when I saw the words 'alpha imprint' on the page. I read the short explanation that essentially said that every alpha imprinted-it was given, and to add onto all of that almost as soon as they phased too.

_Jake is going to become alpha eventually… What about Bella? What would happen to Bella if he imprinted?_

**_I-I don't know…_**

_She'll be broken, and so will Jake! _

**_I know! We just have to hope that his wolf chooses Bella…_**

_Wait, if Sam's imprint was an alpha imprint, then will it break when Jake steps up?_

**_I don't know Quil, I really don't know…_**

~*~X~*~

Ooh, what do you think about the alpha imprint?

to my anon reviewers:

Alexis- Why would Nix go on a date with Bella? Jake's obviously already staked a claim on her, not to mention he's still emotionally raw from his last GF. I also think that you obviously missed my last rant on trying to control what I write.

Shadow-SHUT. UP. I'm the author and I can make the ANs as long as I damn well feel. If you have a problem with that, well you can just buzz off. I don't need people like you annoying me about trivial things like that. Did you look at the chapter you reviewed? Why would I change something that was uploaded two weeks ago? Hm? You are also obviously too much of a coward to leave a signed review, which makes you as insignificant as the speck of dirt on the bottom of my shoe.

Awesome- Finally a decent anonymous review. Thank you, this is shout-out material.

We're learning about Quil next!


	48. Remembering Our Past Quil

It seems that I posted Leah's chapter twice by mistake, and since people actually do still read this classic of mine, I feel obligated to insert the missing chapter, so here you go: Quil's filler. (I remember reading in a past AN that I tended to forget Quil...)

Disclaimer: Much as I wished that I own Twilight, I don't. I only own the toys I added to the toybox.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 47 Remembering Our Past-Quil (QuilPOV)

~*~X~*~

~**December**~

By looking at our past we can predict the future, or at least where us werewolves are concerned.

I really am concerned for Jake though-he'll have to become alpha at some point, and then his wolf will be forced to alpha imprint on virtually the first female he sees. Not only will Bella be crushed when this happens, but Jake will be devastated…

My relationship with Bella never was all that great-at the most we had a brother-sister relationship, but I suppose that is better than nothing.

We were so easily influenced when we were so young, and I suppose that's why Bella and Jake are so close now. Embry and I are actually alike in many ways, the only real difference being that I grew up with a father figure in my life, and he didn't…

~*~(Quil Flashback/Narration)~*~

Much like Embry, I never really knew my father-any memories I have of him are vague at best.

You see, my father died when I was three. I don't know how he died-Mom would never tell me, and she still won't tell me.

My grandfather took my father's place almost as soon as he had died, allowing for me to have a father figure in my life.

I actually met Jake and Seth for the first time at a council meeting-my grandfather brought me, and Billy brought Jake. We were four at the time, and like the innocent kids we were, we became friends pretty easily. Jake and Seth both knew each other from their father's fishing trips, while they would go fishing, either Sarah or Sue would take care of them both. Embry came into the picture a few weeks later when we met him on the beach. We had a blast trying to figure out the wonders of the sea life living in the tide pools that day, and we would meet each other almost everyday.

Then one day when we were five, when I couldn't play with Jake, Seth and Embry because I got in trouble at school, Bella was brought into the picture. When I met her the first time, she was very reserved around me and seemed to always be hanging onto one of the other's arms.

The day I slung sand in her face was the day I completely destroyed any chance I had to be Isabella Swan's friend.

She didn't visit for three straight weeks-the only reassurance that we got that she was still alive were the few times Jake had gone and played with her while Charlie and Billy went fishing, and Renee was always the one to watch them at her house in Forks-never Sarah here in La Push. After the first time Jake visited her, he essentially told us that she wouldn't be visiting for a while.

When she finally started coming back to La Push, she distanced herself from me, not that I blame her, after all I did throw a fistful of sand in her face. I just watched on the sidelines as her relationship with Seth, Embry and Jake blossom into a rich friendship.

The day that Bella's mother took off with her hit all four of us hard-I didn't have the same relationship that Jake, Seth or Embry had with her, but I still felt the effects of her forced departure. Sadness radiated from the others in the days, weeks… even months surrounding Bella's forced moved to Phoenix.

Granted Bella and I had a relationship similar to that of twins, and I felt bored almost every day, because I wouldn't have anyone to pick on. I mean I could pick on the others, but they would fight back-Bella would take it with a smile, and make us both end up laughing by the time she had to go.

Seth, Jake, Embry and I had our own struggles in school, but none of the hardships we endured in school could even compare with Jake's… Come to think of it, both Jake and Nix went through similar hardships, only Nix's was more of a kick in the face while Jake's was more… spontaneous… I wonder which one was worse… Bad Quil! Okay, now back on track-One Summer Jake's mom died in a car crash with a drunk driver.

We were all sitting in the Black's living room, trying to get Jake to come out of his almost comatose-like state, when Bella came barging in the room and latched herself around Jake.

Jake was the most alive that we'd ever seen him that week, but when the day came for Bella to leave, he reverted back to his zombie-like comatose state.

Embry, Seth and I all tried to cheer him up again, but nothing seemed to snap him out of his semi-unresponsive state, that is until Bella came marching in through the door announcing that she wasn't going to go back to Phoenix and her mother-that she was going to stay here with Charlie.

Jake's head snapped up, and his eyes were wet with tears that threatened to fall, and fall they did.

Since that day, so much has happened-Charlie took over as the chief of the La Push police department, resulting in them moving onto the rez and starting school with us…

Then there was the whole 'Bella and the hospital' scare with the blood transfusion that saved her life, and all of this wolf stuff… I'm honestly surprised that no one has imprinted on her yet, I mean whose wolf wouldn't want another wolf as a mate-there would be no one new who would have to be let in on the secret…

Gah! Imprinting is just so dang confusing-why do our wolves have to pick our soul mates for us? I know they supposedly know what's best for us, but Sam and Emily's imprint is just so dang messed up! At least his wolf knows that he messed up big time with that one…

I really hope that I'll never imprint…

Please wolf, don't make me imprint…

~*~X~*~

Enjoy~~ :)


	49. Remembering Our Past Leah

Sorry this was so late!

Disclaimer: I only own that which is not recognizable. Everything recognizable belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 48 Remembering Our Past-Leah (LPOV)

~*~X~*~

Love and loss, joy and suffering-they're all one and the same.

Without loss there is no love, and without suffering there is no joy.

If we all lived in a perfect world, than loss and suffering would not exist, and as consequence, neither would love or joy.

I am the second wolf to imprint, and even though I should feel a strong sense of needing to be close to Danny and protect him, I don't. The feeling of needing to know that he's safe and spending time with him occasionally is there, but we don't have the strong romantic relationship that Sam and Emily have with each other. If I really had to put our relationship into words, I would describe us as being like siblings-needing to be there to support each other but not being invested romantically… Something that I haven't been with Seth for a while now…

Come to think of it, I think I started drifting away from Seth the day that Sam imprinted on Emily…

~*~(Leah Flashback/Narration)~*~

Sam was tense as he sat beside me on my bed helping me with my math review work.

"So because I only have the hypotenuse and the angle I have to use sine to find the height?"

"Yep."

"But if I had the other side I could use cosine?"

"Yep."

I snapped my folder closed and turned to face Sam after flinging the folder somewhere away from the bed.

"Why are you so tense? You said that you didn't mind helping me…"

"Leah I… It's nothing."

"Good." I leaned towards him, and our lips met for the briefest of moments before Sam pulled away, looking as if he were in pain "What's wrong Sam?"

"Leah, I… I can't do this anymore."

"W-What are you talking about?" I stuttered, knowing full well what Sam meant.

"I… We can't be together anymore… I'm sorry…" Sam avoided eye contact, dropping his gaze to the blankets below us as tears began to build in my eyes.

"W-what did I do? I-I can change…"

"Leah, it's not you- It's me. I used to like you, love you even; but now it hurts too much being around you." Sam stood up and made his way towards my door.

"Sam wait…" I pleaded as the tears started to fill.

He paused for a moment, then turned his head back towards me before leaving. His eyes held sorrow, pain and love, though I seriously doubted that the love was directed towards me.

I curled up into a ball and laid on my bed crying, mourning over the loss of my boyfriend.

Over the next few days, my friends started to call and text me, telling me that they had seen Sam tailing Emily everywhere. I decided to confront Emily about it when she came home that night.

"Do you have any idea why my exboyfriend has been following you like a lost puppy?" I almost screamed at Emily.

"I don't know Leah, to tell you the truth he's starting to creep me out. I mean come on! He's been practically stalking me since he came over that one time, it's starting to freak me out… Wait, ex? When did you two break up? You two were so happy last time I came…"

"He broke it off last night. Apparently I'm too young for him" I spat, tears forming in my eyes again "H-he said that it hurt to be around me…"

"Leah I'm so sorry… I'll go confront him tomorrow. You two will be back together by the time I leave-I guarantee it!"

"Th-thanks Emily…"

"No problem Leah."

When Emily left the next morning, she ended up in the hospital. Apparently she and Sam had gone on a hike, and while Sam was away, she got attacked by a bear.

I didn't believe the story for a minute, but her gauze covered face was proof enough for the majority of La Push.

When I walked into Emily's room, I saw Sam standing over her, his gaze locked on the bandages coating her face. He turned his head towards me. His eyes were red and swollen, holding grief and love.

"So it's Emily." I stated.

He nodded.

"Really Sam! What's so special about Emily this time that you dumped me for her this time!"

"Leah I…"

"You know, I don't care. I don't want your half-assed excuse. I. Hate. You." I snapped as I stomped out of the room, nurses and RNs cowering behind the medical equipment that littered the halls. One male nurse who was stupid enough to approach me ended up getting shoved into a garbage can as I stomped around a corner, before collapsing to the floor, covering my face as tears streamed out.

When we got home, I locked myself in my room.

"Come on Leah, it's lunchtime. At least come down and get something to eat…" Seth pleaded two days later

We had heard that Emily had woken up the previous morning, and just as I was about to turn into her room, I heard the words that broke my heart "I accept your imprint, Sam."

"Leave me alone Seth!"

My friends had confirmed my fears-Emily and Sam had been seen walking out of the hospital together, and had been seen kissing on many occasions.

"We're worried about you Leah…"

"Leave me the fuck alone Seth!" I screamed at my little brother.

There was a brief moment of complete silence, before I heard the sound of my little brother's feet running across hardwood floor and the unmistakable sound of his bedroom door slamming shut.

The next morning when I drug myself down the stairs, I caught Seth's gaze for a second before he mumbled something about hanging out with Jacob and Embry at the beach before jetting out the door, his plate still mostly untouched.

I knew at that moment that beyond unreasonable doubt, the bond I had with my little brother was severed, broken beyond repair.

All of my friends started drifting away from me too, the only one who remained was Bella, but she almost always chose hanging out with Seth, Jacob and Embry over me-they had even stopped inviting me to their weekend bonfires on the beach.

I was so depressed, but my depression manifested itself as anger and bitterness. I knd of developed a split personality-being nice whenever Bella was around, and eventually at school, and bitter anytime else. The only reason I think I was nice around Bella was because I didn't want to push her away from Seth, after all, she was virtually the only thing holding me to him.

Seth and I slowly rebuilt our relationship to where we could eat a meal without one of us, mainly him, jetting to go somewhere. Really, we were just pressured into repairing it by our parents.

When I phased, Sam explained to me about imprinting, and how he was forced to be with Emily. When I learned that Emily had a choice about what they could become, and that she chose to be his lover of everything she could've chosen, I felt betrayed.

My bitterness towards Emily increased, and I started taking all of my anger out on Sam.

It's kind of ironic really, how what caused me so much pain is now causing so much happiess…

~*~X~*~

Next up is New Years!

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	50. Pure, Untainted Love

Two things posted today, whew. If this doesn't push me over a thousand hits today, I don't know what will.

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, I'm just twisting them to fit my plot. I do however own my OCs.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 49 Pure, Untainted Love (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

"Bells why don't you at least come home for New Years?" Charlie whined over the phone.

"I don't know Charlie…" This was the first time that my da… Charlie had attempted any contact with me since the last time we saw each other… I'm still not comfortable with what happened last time, I mean I _did_ have to go to Carlisle to get the bullet removed…

"Come on Bells- I haven't seen you since last May… I'm sorry…" I huffed at his attempt at apologizing. About seven months too late buddy!

"Actually, I forgot that the others and I are doing something on New Years…" Yeah. A family bonfire with every pack member and their parents and siblings, and imprints with their families too. So many people were going to be there that we had to make it a potlatch, and even at that Emily and I would have every pack member hard at work helping us dampen our appetites before going so that there would be at least some sense of normalcy among us, not to mention making something different for every member to take. I shivered at the thought of a few of the guy's cooking.

"Oh… What're you doing with them then?"

"We're having a bonfire on the beach? You could probably come if you wanted…"

"Okay Bells…" Charlie said before he hung up.

"Come on Bella, I still need help mixing the marinades!" Emily called from the kitchen.

Yeah-we were going all out for our New Years feast. Granted our efforts would be lost on most of them, but at least they'll be somewhat full before they terrorize the buffet at the beach.

We're doing most of the baking and prep work today-the twenty-ninth.

As soon as I stepped back into the main room, I was looking at a catastrophe. Flour was everywhere, Colin and Brady were throwing flour and sugar at each other, Paul was pounding the living daylight out of the steaks we bought, Jared, Sam and Embry were peeling potatoes on the couch, thankfully into garbage cans, Jake was trying to mix up bread dough while Quil was eating the raw dough right out of the pan. Seth was thankfully activating the yeast the right way, given that half of it ended up on the hardwood floor because of someone. Liza and Danny were grating cheese outside, Nix was sitting in a corner as far away from the flour slinging as possible cutting vegetables, and Emily was standing over the stove, a giant pot over each burner, boiling the brine/marinade that the meats were going to be slung in. Leah and Dustin really are lucky- they're on patrol far, far away from this mess.

"I STEP OUT FOR HOW LONG AND THIS HAPPENS!" I growled, and everyone's heads immediately turned towards me, everyone's eyes having the 'Deer caught in headlights' look, except for Nix, who just laughed a little to himself while continuing to cut vegetables that would apparently be frozen for two day from now.

~*~X~*~

It took a while, but we finally got all of the flour cleaned up, Colin and Brady having the task of cleaning everything that wasn't the floor or countertop, which was essentially everything in the room, including rinsing every single vegetable piece that even had one speck of flour on it.

I refused to cook that night, and took Emily and Nix out to eat-at least they did what I asked.

The thirty first came quickly, and Emily, Nix, Liza, Leah and I were all busy throwing ingredients together in casserole dishes, salad bowls, platters and giant pots. Jake, Seth and Embry took charge of grilling the steaks, and had at least six platters of them to cook outside.

We all took a deep breath as we put the second round of stuff into the ovens and on the burners, everything else already ready to be cooked.

~*~X~*~

Jake and I were already on the beach with Billy, beginning to build the bonfire that would serve to keep every non-wolf warm that night.

"Hi Bella!" I heard Embry call, and I looked up to see Embry walking towards us, Tiffany in tow. Embry set the pie that his mom made on one of the tables that were set up for food, seventeen dishes already being there- one from each member of the pack, plus Billy, Emily, Danny and Liza. "Where's Jake?"

"In the woods getting firewood. Go help." I told him, as I was already starting to construct the cone that would serve as the fuel source for the fire.

"Kay."

That continued as each member of the slowly arrived on the beach with their families. Seth and Leah came with Sue, and Jared brought his parents along with Drew and Dakota. Paul, Brady and Colin all came with their mothers, and Quil came with his mother and grandfather. Nix and Dustin were the last to arrive with Danny, Liza, and their mother, right after Sam and Emily came.

I looked around anxiously, hoping that Charlie would be here, but I didn't see his familiar shape among the small army of people that had formed. We weren't the only group on the beach, but we were the first to get our bonfire going-It being lit as soon as the sun had started it's retreat down the horizon and the first chilling wind cut into the humans' skin.

I watched as a single flame lapped at the structure that I had spent so much time assembling, scarlet flames dancing with cobalt as the entire cone and surrounding wood was devoured by the flame. I had dug quite a ways into the ground, and had stuffed the impression full of wood as well, so the bonfire should last until midnight, if not then we can always go get more wood.

The wolves held back as everyone else went for their food, and Liza shuffled towards me, her eyes locked on Drew.

"Is it just me, or does he seem taller?" She hesitantly asked me, and I focused in on him and his sister. Jared caught me staring and walked over.

"What's wrong with my little brother?" he questioned, sounding genuinely concerned for his younger sibling's wellbeing.

"Have you noticed that he's grown lately?" I asked, the three of us catching the eyes of the elders as we glanced at Drew before looking at Billy, Old Quil and Sue. They all nodded and went back to whatever they were talking about.

"Yeah, but he could just be going through a growth spurt Bella, sure his legs are longer but…"

"It's not just his legs Jared." Liza stated, blushing. After getting a confused look from Jared, Liza continued "Jared, he's filling out and his torso's getting longer. He wore that shirt a few weeks ago, and it wasn't that tight on him…" Liza mumbled, the rose color of her blush touching her cheeks.

I noticed the gleam in her eyes as she said that, and I'm sure that Jared noticed it too. Even if she didn't know it yet, she was falling for Jared's little brother.

"Why don't you go talk to him Liza?" I asked, adding a wink as a sign of understanding.

Jared nodded, and gazed after her as she jogged off towards the soon-to-be new wolf.

The next hour passed fairly quickly, talking with the other members of the pack was just so natural, as if we actually were all brothers and sisters.

"Bella?" I jumped as a human temperature hand rested on my shoulder, causing Leah to giggle a little bit.

"Charlie?" I asked, turning around, hearing Leah walk away.

"Bells I…" I cut him off with a hug, which he returned. Even though I still hate him for what he did to me, he _is_ my dad after all.

"Just go talk to Billy before you get drunk okay?" I told him, and he mumbled something along the lines of 'okay' before walking towards Billy.

Our stockpile for the bonfire started getting a little low after about another hour, so half the pack went off on the hunt for more wood.

Jake and I wandered towards a few of the other fires, when a familiar voice drifted to my ears.

"Bella!" I turned and saw Angela, tailed by someone who looked almost exactly like her- Angela was wearing a light purple sweater, a white hat and khaki pants with her hair blowing all over the place, while the other person was wearing a red sweatshirt with a Pikachu on the front, dark blue pants and no hat, with red framed glasses and her short hair pulled into a ponytail fairly close to her head.

"Hi Angela!" I said hugging her. "Who's this?" I asked, motioning to the person behind her.

"Oh, this is my cousin, Kathy. She's staying with us until graduation because her parents went missing in Seattle about a week ago. She's a senior just like us, so we'll be graduating at the same time."

"That's great Ang…"

"So who's this?" She asked motioning to Jake.

"This? It's Jake…" I realized as Angela's mouth fell open that she hadn't seen Jake since the whole werewolf thing, and I couldn't blame her-Jake looked nothing like the sickly little boy he was when we would come to the beach in middle school, when I still went to school in Forks…

"Really? Wow…"

"Come on Bella, we have to get back to the fire." Jake urged, glancing back toward our huge blaze, everyone else already having returned, and the other half of the pack having gone off to look for wood.

"See you later Ang?" I asked as I started to back back towards the fire.

"Sure."

"See ya later!" I called as I turned around and ran with Jake back to the huge blaze.

When we got back to the fire, I joined in conversation with Jared and Nix, all three of us noticing how close Liza and Drew were already- Drew giving Liza light pecks on her cheeks as they sat by the bonfire.

We couldn't help but smile at how sweet they were together-natural, untainted love…

~*~X~*~

Next up we learn about Paul.

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	51. Remembering Our Past Paul

Welcome to the Friday Chapter!

I'm really sorry that this didn't come out on Friday, but I went to see The Hunger Games, and was hung up all day writing, so now I'm back to my 10-chapter buffer.

Also, this isn't my best writing- I absolutely HAD to force this chapter out, I couldn't figure out what to write to.

Also, I actually forgot to upload Quil's chapter before, so check that out now- It's a pretty good dabble into his head.

Disclaimer: I only own that which is not owned by Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 50 Remembering Our Past-Paul (PaulPOV)

~*~X~*~

~**January**~

When are those leeches going to come! It's been over five months since they told us about the psychic leech's vision! I'm tired of waiting around, just come already!

They can't come soon enough, I just want to ink my teeth into their undead flesh and tar them apart!

Being the third to phase, my entrance into the pack was also the marker that began the rumor that we were some kind of cult or something.

~*~(Paul Flashback/Narration)~*~

_"Paul, calm down dude…"_

_"How the hell can I calm down-I'm a fucking dog! I have four freaking paws, and I fucking yelped!"_ I mentally yelled back at Jared, still not knowing how I could hear him inside my head, or why I even cared-I just turned into a freaking dog! I hope this is all just some sick nightmare…

_"**Calm down Paul.** And no, much as we wished it was, it isn't." _That was Sam, where is he? Never mind that, why the hell can't I move my bloody hands… paws?

_"Why can't I move?" _Granted I was glad that whatever happened stopped my thrashing around-it was starting to get out of control… I don't think this part of the forest will ever be the same.

_"Cause he put an alpha order on you-he's the alpha Paul, we have to do whatever he says whenever he says it."_

_"But what if…"_

_"There are no ways around an alpha order Paul. You and Jared are the only others like this so far, so I shouldn't have to use them as much now…"_

_"Wait… So far?" _Jared questioned.

_"Yeah-Jacob and Seth are both guaranteed to phase; Jacob's the rightful alpha and Seth has the strongest connection to the last pack, Quil'll probably phase too…"_

A few weeks after I went back to school, Embry phased. And so the extremely sensitive topic of who Embry's mother was rose.

Through the extensive genealogy work that we did under the elder's noses, we pretty much narrowed Embry's potential Fathers down to three people-Billy Black, Quil Atera IV, and Joshua Uley. Granted there was still a small possibility that anyone with ties to the previous pack could be Embry's father, but considering that Embry's half Makah, we think that only someone with one of the pure genes-Billy, Quil and Joshua, could possibly pass the gene on to Embry.

"So I wonder which one of our cheating fathers knocked up Embry's mother…" I was cut off by Sam's growl-even though his father was a real jerk, and the only one whose wife wasn't expecting at the time Embry had to have been conceived, he was still defending him.

Granted there was still a chance that any of our fathers was Embry's father; heck, I wouldn't be surprised if my father was Embry's too, after all, he cheated on my mom how many times throughout their marriage? But… I don't think that the gene that he carried was pure enough; after all, the gene is kept pure through the male descendants…

"Sheesh Sam. We all know that it's true-one of our fathers had to sleep with Embry's mother, but then again maybe Tiffany already knew…"

Embry growled. "My mom is **not** a slut!"

"Sheesh Embry, no need to get so defensive…"

After Embry got the tattoo that each of us possessed, people started viewing us as a cult-as if! At night we were protecting their asses, sacrificing precious sleep for their safety! And for what! It's not like we get any recognition-half the rez doesn't even know who we are!

After all, we can't like print in the newspaper that we killed a vampire and saved all of La Push, oh no. Instead we have to suffer in silence while people brand us with false titles, like they're all assuming that we're a gang or a cult.

What made everything worse was the fact that we could hear every single thing that everyone said 'behind our backs'. Then when Embry's mom caught wind of the rumors about us, and the fact that Embry was rarely home when she checked in on him during the night, she put the pieces together, and not in a good way. She immediately jumped the gun and assumed that Embry was doing something bad and started scolding him every morning when he would get home.

We all felt bad for the guy, so Sam offered to let his mom in on the secret, but Embry thought that keeping our secret a secret was more important, and the fact that then the issue of who his father is would come up… Yeah, that would get very messy very fast.

Then Nix phased, and he just about attacked his dad. We were lucky that Sam was on patrol at the time; man was Nix mad! His temper those first few days was even worse than mine-he would snap at anyone and anything that got in his way, but after that initial release of his anger he calmed down quite a bit-one day he was fuming mad, and the next he was as peaceful as the fucking pope! It was almost as if he just had to flip a switch to calm down. Granted he started fuming when we picked around in his head for what might have brought out his wolf enough that the only thing that was missing was the trigger of vampire stench.

Seth and Leah phased next. How awkward is that? Sam's ex is in his head twenty-four seven now, and she can see every thought that he has about Emily. That threw the balance off. Then Quil phased, leaving us waiting only on Jacob.

We started watching Jacob at school, and it freaked him out. He started spending more time with Bella, and being around her seemed to calm his wolf, just like Cymoril was to Nix. Then Jake phased, and the whole fiasco with Bella becoming a zombie minus the green rotting flesh, and her hanging out with the Cullens before they ditched her and she was hunted by some vamp with dreadlocks, where she phased.

Not only was her phasing a complete shock to us, but so was Jacob's lack of an imprint-If our theories were correct that she had the same calming effect on him as Emily had on Sam, then they should've imprinted on each other, but they didn't. Our theory was further supported by Nix and Cymi- she kept him calm and he felt attracted to each other.

Too bad there wasn't a legend about imprints revealing themselves before the first phase.

But then again, there can't be an answer to everything in the past- we do have to write some legends for ourselves after all, that's how we pass our knowledge on to future packs, by creating our own legacies for them to follow.

~*~X~*~

Next up is "The Gorge"!

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	52. Glimpses of Red

This is one of my absolute favorite chapters, as it is made up of two of my most favorite scenes mushed together- one from New Moon and the other from Eclipse.

Disclaimer: I don't own much- mainly my OCs and plot... Everything else belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 51 Glimpses of Red (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

~**February**~

_"Bella, Paul and Nix take the west boundary line, Jacob, Embry and Seth patrol the northern area, and Jared, Leah and Quil patrol the southern area. Dustin and I will start the normal patrol at noon. Colin and Brady, stay here and try to commune with your inner wolves again-we need to figure out where their personalities diverge from yours."_

_"Sure thing boss." _ Brady replied.

_"I already told you guys that you don't have to call me that."_ Sam sighed.

_"But it fits boss!"_ Colin whined, Jake chuckling a little next to me.

I could just tell that he wanted to say something without the other's hearing, so I walked next to him and reached into the depths of my mind to find the edge of my barrier to stretch over him.

I figured out how my mental barrier works over the past few months-it's like a rubber band, allowing me to stretch it over others, though I can't stretch it that far. I can also kinda block other's thoughts from the others, but I can only really protect things aimed directly at me, and protecting those further from where I am puts more strain on me than if they were standing right next to me and I could stretch my barrier over them, and if it's stretched over them then all of their thoughts are protected.

_"That's why I don't want to be alpha."_ Jacob chuckled, and I shoved him with my shoulder.

_"Jacob Black! You know that you have to take over as alpha sometime- your wolf is the true alpha!"_

_"Yeah, but being in charge of all these buffoons takes a lot outta Sam- I don't want to lose my sanity quite yet Bella."_

_"You won't lose your sanity Jake…" _I started, interrupted by a firm shove from Paul's shoulder which sent me straight into Jake, causing us to fall on top of each other. That could only mean one thing. As soon as I let the mental barrier down, I was being yelled at by Paul.

_"God Bella, we were supposed to start patrolling ten minutes ago, but you were lost in Jakeland…!"_

_"Shut up Paul." _Jacob snapped.

_"Is baby alpha angry we interrupted his alone time with his mate?" _Paul taunted.

_"Don't call me that!" _Jake whined.

_"Aww, does baby alpha…"_

_"Wanna start patrolling now Bella?" _Nix managed to ask me over the clamor that Jake and Paul were making in the pack mind.

_"Sure."_ I replied as I trotted into the woods with Nix, leaving Jake and Paul still bickering about whatever it is that they were arguing about.

Nix and I stopped once we reached the shallow river that marked part of our boundary with the Cullens.

Pausing for a moment to sniff the air, we set off at a trot north along the river, glancing at the river every so often as the clear water would be broken by rapids or swirl into a small pool as the river got deeper.

Paul caught up with us after about ten minutes, surprisingly quiet.

_"What's wrong Paul? Usually you make some comment about how slow we are…"_

_"It's nothing."_

_"'Nothing' doesn't make you…" _I was interrupted by the sound of rustling underbrush accompanied by the wind wafting the sickly sweet scent of vampires downwind towards us.

_"Crap."_ Paul swore as he took off running further up the river. I scarcely felt the soft earth turn to hard stone as we shadowed the treaty line, the scent blowing from the Cullen's side.

A huge bang echoed throughout the otherwise almost silent forest, followed by the unmistakable sound of a tree falling. I'm pretty sure someone would've yelled 'timber' if we weren't following a vampire just on the other side of the line.

_"Timber!" _Quil called out playfully.

_"Now really isn't the time Quil." _Sam sighed as he, along with the rest of the pack started running towards us, knowing full well that half of the pack was too far away to be of any use.

A flash of orange flew across the gorge, landing on our side. Paul, who was further ahead than Nix and I at the moment caught a glimpse of her face _"Victoria" _.

_"Who?" _Colin and Brady questioned as Jacob doubled his efforts to reach us as we chased Victoria down the gorge.

_"Later." _Half the pack snapped, causing the two newest members of the pack to shrink down.

Paul was almost on her, when she leaped over a bush, Paul barreling right into the unfortunate shrubbery that was now half uprooted.

Nix leaped over Paul without missing a stride, with such grace that only he possessed. Victoria looked back towards us for a second, giving Nix the time he needed to get right on her heels, but she took a sharp turn and leaped back to the Cullen's side. It was then that I noticed the Cullens running right alongside us, Emmett's clothes looking a little worse for wear. After about thirty seconds, the time it took for Edward to catch up to her, Victoria leaped back over to our side, Paul still a good few meters behind her.

I saw Emmett bend his legs, his momentum never stopping as he ran closer to the edge, before finally leaping, Paul turning abruptly and meeting Emmett midair. _"No! Emmett!"_

My though broke Paul's concentration, and his hold on Emmett loosened just enough for Emmett to slip out of his jaws and into the river.

I leaped down the rockface, forgetting entirely about Victoria, my only focus being Emmett's welfare.

I met his gaze, and he nodded once, sending me one of his smiles that only Jacob's could rival.

It was then that I noticed that Nix wasn't with us.

~*~(NPOV)~*~

As soon as the big vampire leaped over the river, I knew that both Bella and Paul would forget entirely about the redhead, and I was right-Paul attacked the Cullen and Bella stayed behind to make sure he was okay.

I took a sharp turn into the forest and bolted after Victoria.

_"Jacob, Embry, Seth! Try to cut her off…" _I thought as a streak of russet fur flew past me, knocking me slightly off-balance. I should've figured that Jacob would be a lost cause…

_"We'll try, but I don't think we'll get there in time Nix." _Embry replied.

Sensing the 'Why?' in my head, Seth continued _"We're just about as far from you as we could be."_

_"Then what about Jacob?"_

_"As soon as Bella identified the leech, he was tearing off towards you guys."_

_"Just try your best."_

I could feel both Jared's ad Sam's impressment at my ability to make split second assumptions based on my prior knowledge of everyone else. I didn't pay them much mind though- I was focused on catching up to the redhead.

Sprinting as fast as I could, I could feel my legs burning, having never been pushed this hard for such an extended period of time before. The only thing besides the scent that told me I was still on the vampire's tail was the occasional glimpses of red that were getting even more sparse- I was getting tired, and as a result was letting her get ahead of me.

I pushed myself even harder, my legs whining in protest. I was focused so much on pushing myself that I failed to notice the strong smell of salt and seawater hanging in the air.

I emerged into a small clearing, the redhead staring straight at me, smirking.

"You're much more resilient than I thought your kind could be." She said, making me freeze for a second, giving her the time to turn around at an impossibly fast speed and dive into the dark sea water below, the dive almost certainly being a perfect thirty if she were in the Olympics.

I charged forward, hoping for at least a bit of clothing, but knowing full well that it was an impossibility.

I slowed myself down a bit, leaping onto the small outcropping of rock overlooking the sea. I let the wind ruffle my fur as I beat myself up over letting her get away from me.

_"Don't worry about it Nix- there's always next time…" _Quil tried to comfort, but failing miserably.

I caught little snippets of Sam's conversation with Jared, catching only _'Nix'_, _'take over'_, _'third'_, and _'Paul'_.

Not wanting to even try to piece together what they were saying, I slowly turned around and started walking back towards the others, my legs feeling like jelly from having been pushed so hard.

_"Don't beat yourself up over it Nix- you did better than most of us could've ever hoped to." _Sam tried to soothe, but I shot it down almost immediately.

_"Doubtful. Leah and Jacob are both faster than me, they probably could've gotten her…"_

_"Yeah, but they wouldn't have gone after her instead of staying with Paul and Bella." _Sam countered.

I had to admit, no matter how bad I felt, Sam was right- I'm pretty sure that no one else would've gone after the redhead instead of the Cullen.

~*~X~*~

Next up we learn about Bella!

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	53. Remembering Our Past Bella

Sorry this is so late- I had a really bad headache.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that can be recognized as Stephanie Meyer's. Everything else does however belong to me.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 52 Remembering Our Past-Bella (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

~**March**~

There are many things in this world that we don't understand: Vampires, Werewolves, all of the 'gifts' in the world…

The secret life that stays hidden from the view of the general populace of the World, the worst possible thing to happen to you is to be thrust right into it just like I was, though; I think that I would've ended up in it anyways.

According to the legend, a female wolf only phases when she has a ton of pent-up emotions, and I had those in abundance when Jake left me- being with the Cullens just delayed the inevitable I guess.

Despite everything bad that exists in the World, and by being shoved into the world of the supernatural, I can't help but feel at home in this strange world.

~*~(Bella Flashback/Narration)~*~

"But mooooooom I dun wanna leaf Jakey and Seffy and Emmy. Thewe wy fwends." I whined as my mom made me pack up almost all of my stuff into cardboard boxes.

"You'll see them again soon Bella dear." Mom soothed as she stroked my hair, calming me down a little.

I relented, my young mind not processing Renee's definition of 'soon' as being 'for two months every Summer'.

During those sixty days that I would spend about fifty of them with Jake, Seth and Embry, nine with Charlie, and one upset over having to leave everyone behind again.

This cycle repeated for the next four years, me missing birthday parties, playing with my friends, and just those three in general.

The year of my thirteenth birthday, four years after my mother had torn me from my friends, one phone call changed everything…

The phone started ringing while I was sitting on the couch reading 'Romeo and Juliet' for the third time and Renee was in the kitchen trying to cook god knows what.

"Bella dear, could you please answer that?"

"Why mom? I'm just getting to the good part!" I called back. She never understood why I loved reading so much, let alone the classics that made her fall asleep as soon as I started talking about them.

"I don't know what one of those completely uninteresting books you're reading Isabella, answer the phone!"

"Fine." I pouted as I slammed the book shut, well more like slapped- you can't slam paperback books shut too well. Leaving the book on the couch, I walked over to the phone and picked it up "Hello?"

"Bells? Is that you?" Charlie's voice came through the ear piece, sounding stressed.

"Dad? What's wrong?"

"Bells, um… Get your mother on the phone."

"MOM! DAD WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!" I shouted towards the kitchen, forgetting to cover the mouth piece.

"Sheesh Bells, remember to move the phone next time you do that okay?"

Mom came up behind me then, drying her hands on a towel before she took the phone from me.

"What do you want Charlie?...She what?...They must be taking it hard…Yeah, they always did get along well together…He's what?...Sure Charlie, I'll send her for a few weeks…Okay…Bye." She hung up the phone before I could ask her what was wrong "Bella, go pack your bag-you're going to go visit Jake tomorrow."

"Really?" I asked, not believing what I had just heard- we just got off on our two-week long spring break, and I usually only visit Forks during the Summer.

"Yeah" I started bolting for my room "and Bella" I stopped, looking back at my mom "I think I'm going to go get take-out for tonight, I don't feel like cooking right now."

Whatever Charlie had said must've been pretty serious for my mom to give up cooking something right in the middle like she did.

I quickly drug my bag out and started shoving clothes into it as fast as I could- I was so excited to see Jake, and Seth, and Embry…

I didn't pay any mind when Renee gave me a card envelope addressed to Jake and Billy to give to them.

The next morning I was on a plane bound for Settac airport in Washington.

Charlie was waiting there for me when I got off the plane, and I greeted him with a huge hug, not so much because I was happy to see him as I was excited to be back in Forks and being able to see my friends again.

When we were in the cruiser, Charlie finally spoke to the elephant in the room "Did Renee tell you why you're here Bells?"

"To spend time with my friends?" Come to think of it, why was I here? No matter how much I'd beg before, she'd never cave in and let me visit… What was so different about this situation?

"I guess she didn't." Bells, look at me.

I turned, facing Charlie as he was paying attention to the road spread out in front of us.

"Bells Sarah was… Jacob's mother was in a car crash…"

"And she's okay?"

"No Bells… Sarah, she… she died at the scene."

I was frozen- Jake loved his mom to pieces, he would be crushed, no much more than that-devistated…

"What about Jake?" I asked as I started to come out of my daze, during which Charlie was thankfully silent.

"Jacob, well… He's not taking it too well Bells. He curled up on the couch on Thursday, and he hasn't moved since. He's not responding to anyone- Seth, Embry and Quil can't even get him to move; he hasn't eaten or drank anything since Thursday, and we don't know if he's gotten any sleep since then…"

"He's not talking to Seth or Embry, or Quil?" I was shocked- they were his best friends, usually he wouldn't be quiet around them.

"No, and Billy's getting really worried about him Bells. You're the only other friend he has that hasn't come to see him so we figured…"

"Be quiet and drive faster dad."

I don't actually know if he did drive any faster, but it didn't matter at all. The only thing that mattered to me was getting inside of the small red house that we were now pulling up in front of.

I impatiently followed Charlie to the front door of the house, and as soon as Charlie walked through the doorway, I shot into the house, latching myself onto Jake's statue like form, extracting a sigh from him, his arms moving for being wrapped around his knees to being wrapped around my body.

Everyone's held breaths were all released at the moment that Jake's arms moved, his glazed over eyes regaining a little bit of their previous luster. I tore my head from Jake's shoulder just long enough to notice Seth and Embry, along with Tiffany Call, Sue Clearwater and Joy Atera. If Joy was here then where was Quil? Charlie said that Quil was trying to help Jake out too…

I was broken from my train of thought by Jake hugging me harder, nuzzling his head into my neck, tears finally beginning to fall.

"Amazing…" I heard Charlie mumble as he walked into the room, pushing Billy, who was crying, over what I wasn't too sure- Sarah's death or Jake coming out of his statue-like state.

I essentially spent the entire first week at the Black's house, pulling Jake back from the brink of depression with the help of Seth, Embry and even Quil.

Jake was much better the second week, so I had to sleep at Charlie's house, though I still spent the majority of my day in La Push with Jake.

The day before I was going to fly back to Phoenix, Jake fell back into his statue-like routine. I made a split-second decision that to this day I still don't regret: I told Jake that I was going to stay.

I spent the next two days pulling Jake back from the brink, while Charlie had all of my school records transferred. It's amazing how quickly things like that get done when your father is a chief of police. Granted Renee was upset about my decision, but she understood my need to be around Jake- I was the only thing holding him together; keeping him alive, I was as important to him at that time as the air he breathed.

I learned over time that Jake would just sit there curled up like he was never eating and hardly ever drinking anything with his eyes glazed over like they were, and that he was barely breathing, the only movements that he made were the shallow breaths he took, until I came back.

I stayed, and never regretted never going back to Phoenix to be with my mom, but from what I gathered, after I had moved out of the house she had found herself another man, married him, and was now living in Jacksonville, Florida.

The accident that almost cost me my life came the following year, and for a few weeks after I got out of the hospital, Seth, Jacob and Embry all but worshipped the ground I stood on, showering me with so much forgiveness that I actually started making up with Quil, mending our brother/sister relationship so that I could get away from the others' groveling.

Then Charlie was transferred to the La Push police department when the previous chief of police died to an animal attack, bringing me even closer to my friends, making us almost inseperatable.

There are many dangers out in the world, both supernatural and not, but sometimes we forget the small things that can hurt more than anything else, such as forgetting to return that phone call or sleeping through the alarm that you set so you could get ready for your date, or not having enough money for that little extra something that would make that night all the more memorable.

But sometimes, the small things that you forget make the night all the more memorable than that small trinket anyway.

~*~X~*~

Next up is Liza's chapter, followed by Danny's, so I suggest rereading Nix and Dustin's chapters.

This is getting very repetitious, even to me. Anyone else feel the same?

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	54. Remembering Our Past Liza

This gives more answers to the whole Nix thing, and if you pay close attention in this chapter and the next, you'll notice inconsistencies with Nix's, Liza's and Danny's POVs. This is because they all perceived the event differently, adding personal twists into the story. and don't worry, all of these loose ends will be back together in Danny's chapter.

Disclaimer: See some other chapter. I'm too lazy right now to make up a new one.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 53 Remembering Our Past-Liza (LizaPOV)

~*~X~*~

~**April**~

There are so many things in this world that we have no hope of understanding…

How Quileutes can morph into wolves, why vampires exist, why some of us have 'gifts'…

Everything was once just so simple for all of us- there were no wolves, no vampires, and nothing tying us to La Push.

We were all just teenagers worried about going to college, making and maintaining friends, or worrying about if anyone would like us when we switched schools- from middle to high, or just plain moving…

It was all just so simple, but if it was meant to be so simple for all of us, then everyone wouldn't have inherited that gene or whatever it is that makes everyone transform into those huge wolves…

But… We've been dealt our cards, and now we need to live with them, no matter how horrible the hand is.

~*~(Liza Flashback/Narration)~*~

I was sitting in the hospital lobby, waiting for Nix to come out of his coma. Danny hadn't moved from his side, and Cymi wasn't looking too good- they were giving her a few more hours, tops.

A nurse walked out of one of the hallways, approaching me.

"Are you Liza?" She asked sweetly.

"Yeah…" I responded, looking at mom, dad, uncle Chad and aunt Theresa.

"Your brother is asking for you."

"D-Danny? But he's with Nix…"

"He said he needed to tell you something."

I nodded as I stood up and followed the nurse to my cousin's room. When I entered, I saw my brother slumped next to the cot, his head resting on the mattress while his body was positioned in a rather uncomfortable was in a chair.

The nurse gently nudged Danny awake, and whispered something in his ear before leaving us in peace.

Danny stretched a little before walking towards me, throwing his arms around me. I couldn't miss his bloodshot eyes or his disheveled appearance.

"Liza, there's something that you probably should know." He said after a while, pulling away from me and looking to Nix's heart monitor, the steady beeping and movement of the red line being the only indicator that Nix was still alive.

"Danny…"

"Nix and I… He thought… We think that we're more than just cousins." He finally blurted out.

"Wh-what do you mean Danny?"

"We… We think that we're brothers."

I looked quickly from Danny to Nix and back to Danny again, noticing the similarities between them- their skin tone, facial build… "S-so?"

"He… We think that I was given to our parents because of a miscarriage…"

"Wh-why do you think that?" I stammered.

"Think about it Liza- Mom came to the hospital nine days before my birthday, and aunt Theresa seven days later, yet I'm mere minutes younger than Nix. Then look at our similarities- our faces, skin color, eye color, heck even our muscle build is the same! Have you ever heard of two cousins always wearing the same size _everything_ Liza?"

"Danny I…"

"Then there was a huge celebration when mom announced that she was pregnant with you…"

I looked down- it all made some sort of sense, but then why did Danny's birth certificate say that my parents were his?

"We… We were going to get a DNA test done this week, but…" Danny trailed off as a nurse ran into our room.

"You two know this patient right?" she asked, barely giving us time to nod before dragging us out of the room "Come on- Cymoril doesn't have much time left…"

We were shoved into a room full of people- Cymoril's parents and little brother, all gathered around her mangled body.

"Nix?" She weakly asked.

Her mother motioned for Danny to come closer. She knew that Danny wasn't Nix, but they looked so similar that they could easily be mistaken for the other.

Danny moved to the side of the bed, and leaned in towards Cymoril.

She whispered something into his ear, and he nodded before she put something in his hand. He took the thing, and held onto her hand with his free hand.

We all watched as the disturbance on the heart monitor became more and more flattened, until there was barely a disturbance at all. Cymi closed her eyes and breathed out a heavy breath, before the line went flat.

The RN sitting next to the equipment unplugged the machine while Danny slowly placed her hand over her heart, kissing it and mumbling something into her unhearing ears.

Quiet sobs started pouring from the occupants of the room as Danny came over to me, his package still in his hand. He slowly guided me back to Nix's room, stopping outside the door, telling me to go tell our parents what had happened.

About seven minutes later, another nurse came running out, telling us that Nix had just woken from his coma. We all ran into the room, to see Nix hugging Danny, both of them crying, Nix tightly holding the thing that Cymoril had given to Danny. Our family slowly streamed out of the room, asking the nurse to Cymoril's room, wanting to give their condolences now that we knew that Nix was alive.

I stayed with Danny, watching as he gently coaxed Nix back to sleep. Danny pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and dialed a number, walking towards the window.

"This is Danny… Yes I have clearance, Colonel Skafflestad's orders… um, 43762 I think… Hi Amanda… Yeah, it happened… No, he's fine- it's Cymi… Dustin?..."

I didn't notice the conversation for a little while- something was nagging at the back of my brain, a feeling that I couldn't place. I looked towards Nix, and it seemed to be coming from him, but I couldn't be sure.

"Amanda?... Should I have Nix call as soon as he can?... Are you going to put him in the field?... Yeah, I can imagine that… Will do Amanda… Bye…" He ended his call and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Who was that?" I asked as he walked back to Nix's bedside.

"Colonel Skaflestad."

He continued when I gave him a dumb look.

"Dustin's commanding officer…"

"Oh my god! I completely forgot about Dustin!"

"Liza please… He needs to rest…"

"Oops, sorry…"

I didn't know what I was feeling at the time, but now I know that it was Nix's inner wolf starting to awaken.

Each time Nix would visit us, that nagging would just grow stronger and stronger, until they moved.

Nix and Danny never did get that DNA test done, and they still haven't.

I wonder what the results would be if they ever took it…

~*~X~*~

Next is Danny's POV!

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	55. Remembering Our Past Danny

Hey hey!

Sorry this didn't make it up yesterday, but I got caught up in making the outline, and there will be a total of 92 chapters! However, one of those was the Preface, and there are two epilogues, so it'll be kinda like a 'choose your own ending' type of thing.

Now, I have a flashback chapter planned for chapter 88ish, so in chapter 80ish I'll ask you for your favorite moments from the fic, and these moments will be featured in this chapter.

There is also a reason for there being two epilogues- I can't decide which ending I want, so I'm just going to write them both.

Disclaimer: Too lazy to rewrite... Look at chapter 37.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 54 Remembering Our Past-Danny (DPOV)

~*~X~*~

~**May**~

Love never comes easily, wither it being romantic or family.

Imprinting is a sure-fire way to fall in love, but is it really considered love when you're forced to fall head over heels in love with someone?

Love is something that builds over time- it can't be forced. It doesn't matter if you're soul mates, if you didn't take the time to build your relationship, it is destined to fail.

Really, family love is the only love that is instant…

Motherly love, fatherly love, and sibling love all comes relatively fast, sibling love even more faster when the two siblings are twins.

Nix and I, we just clicked. We didn't have to hide anything from each other- we had no reason to, and we could both read the other pretty well, something I could never really do with Liza.

Being with Nix was like… It was… It was as easy as breathing…

~*~(Danny Flashback/Narration)~*~

When the nurse started dragging us towards Cymoril's room, I knew what was happening-her time was coming.

As Liza and I were shoved into the small crowded room, all eyes were directed at me. I averted my eyes. I knew that I looked identical to my cousin, but at the moment, we couldn't look more different.

Cymoril's mother beckoned me towards her daughter's bedside, shifting to the side so that I could hear the message for my cousin, and hopefully alleviate some of the pain she most likely felt just from my presence; my appearance, and hopefully give her the closure that Nix would want.

I leaned over the side of the cot, and Cymoril smiled weakly at me, the smile barely reaching her eyes, which held the immense love for my cousin above her own pain.

Moving my head as close to her mouth as I could manage, she whispered something into my ear…

"Danny? I know that you're not Nix, but… could you stay anyway? You two look so much alike…"

I nodded gently, noticing her grip tighten on a small box in her hand.

"Give this to him" She rasped, giving me the box "and tell him that I'll always love him, and that I'll never blame him, even if he moves on- I love him enough to only wish for his happiness…"

My eyes started to tear up as she settled back into her pillow, closing her eyes peacefully, gently pulling my hand to her heart.

Everyone leaned in as her heartbeat got fainter and fainter, her life escaping right before our eyes.

The single G sharp square tone signaled that she had left us. The RN bent over and pulled the cord from the wall, wrapping it around the machine before leaving the family to grieve.

I slid my hand from her still warm on, gently placing it over her now silent heart. I moved back towards Liza, tears starting to fall, looking back at the distraught family we were leaving to grieve.

Liza started walking back to Nix's room, and as I was about to leave, Cymoril's little brother came up to me, tears streaming down his face.

"Why are you not hurt?" He chocked out through his sobs.

I knelt down in front of him, and told him the truth "I'm not Nix- he's in a coma."

Cymoril's parents turned towards me at my admission.

"Then who are you?" her father demanded.

"I'm Nix's cousin." I said standing up, brushing off my pants.

"But you two look so alike…" her mother mumbled.

"Yeah, we know." I averted my gaze "I'm sorry…" I dashed out of the room, hoping that they would understand that sometimes seeing a ghost is better than seeing nothing.

I caught us to Liza, and we were walking back to Nix's room, tears slowly streaming down our faces, earning us looks of sympathy from the nurses and doctors that we passed.

We both paused outside of Nix's room.

"Go tell them." I told her, nodding down the hall towards the lobby.

As soon as Liza left, I went back into Nix's room, wiping the tears from my eyes. Nix didn't need to know that something happened as soon as he woke up.

I sat next to him, noticing his eyelids scrunch up before they opened for a brief second then closed again.

"Please open your eyes." I begged. It would be cruel of fate to tease me with just a flicker of hope for Nix, after all, I had taken his place at the side of his dying love in favor of giving her closure.

His eyelids twitched again, before the green irises that mirrored my own were shown to the world for the first time in over twenty four hours.

"Danny?" My cousin's scratchy voice asked.

"You're awake!" I cried as I nearly pounced on my bedridden cousin, nuzzling my face in the crook of his neck much like a dog would it's owner. We stayed like that for what seemed like hours, even though it was in reality only a few minutes.

Then the word that I feared most came out of his mouth "Cymi?"

I pulled out of his embrace, fresh tears building in the corners of my eyes.

"D-did Cymi…"

"I'm sorry Nix, she… They didn't think that she would last till you woke up and she was ready to leave…"

"Just tell me Danny." He whispered so softly that I could barely hear him.

"She… She left a few minutes ago…"

Nix seemed to tense up, and his heartbeat began to speed up as sobs racked his body.

I leaned in, the case that Cymi gave me in my hand "She wanted you to have these…" I mumbled softly, handing Nix the unscathed case.

He silently opened it, and his sobs came back full force. A few minutes later, Liza came in with a nurse who put something in his IV, causing him to drift into an uneasy sleep.

"Where are they?" I asked Liza as she walked to my side.

"With her parents."

"They were truly in love, you know that?" I asked my sister as we looked at my cousin.

"Yep."

"He's going to be crushed… And we won't be able to help…"

"Nope."

"I-I have to call someone." I slipped my cell phone out of my pocket and walked to the single window in the room. The view was beautiful, the kind that made you forget all of the sadness that goes on in a hospital for just a moment, before you're pulled back into the harsh reality that we have to live in.

I dialed the number that Colonel Skaflestad… Amanda had left for me to call.

"Who is this?" The person on the other end answered.

"Danny." I responded

"Do you have clearance to make this call?"

"Yeah, Colonel Skafflestad's orders."

"Do you know the order number?"

"Um, I think it's 43762"

"One second please." There was the shuffling of papers in the background before the man came back on "Your call is approved. Please wait a minute while we put you through…"

"Danny?" Colonel Skafflestad's voice came through the line.

"Hi Amanda."

"Did something happen?"

"Yeah…"

"Did Nix die?"

"No, he's fine- it's Cymi…"

"Wait a second honey, Dustin's here. Let me hand off the phone…"

"Hello?" Dustin's deep timbred voice came through the earpiece.

"Dustin?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Nix woke up."

"Really?" his voice rose slightly in pitch.

"Yeah-twenty-five hours since the last call, but…"

"What?"

"Cymi passed not even five minutes before he woke up- they never had a chance to say goodbye…"

Silence met my words

"He's not taking it too well-he just fell asleep, and I called as soon as I could…"

He still didn't respond.

"Dustin?"

I heard the faint sound of the phone being shuffled before Colonel Skafflestad's voice came through again "Hi again."

"Amanda?"

"Yeah, this is Amanda. Tell your cousin that I'm really sorry for his loss, and that I'll try to get Dustin some leave as soon as I can okay?"

"Should I have Nix call as soon as he can?"

"Yeah, having him call might be a good idea."

"Are you going to put him in the field?"

"Dustin's not looking too good here."

"Yeah, I can imagine that."

"No, I'm not going to deploy him-he'd just waste bullets with the way his aim is at the moment" She laughed a little "Give her parents and your cousin my condolences."

"Will do Amanda."

"Bye bye honey."

"Bye." The dial tone came through, and I ended the call and slipped my phone back into my pocket.

I glanced back at Nix. I had no clue how much pain he must be going through right now…

At school, I was his shoulder to cry on; the teachers took sympathy on us, as did most of the school. Our schedules were shuffled so that they were nearly identical, and we sat next to each other in every class.

A few of the newer students and teachers even mistook me for Nix a few times.

I helped support Nix as much as I could- he had lost so much over the course of a few days, and everywhere he went there was a constant reminder of what he had lost.

Ever since I could remember, there's always been Nix; he's been there for me through thick and thin, and I've been there for him through the same.

Our parents never tried to separate us, in fact they tried to keep us together as much as possible, wither it be us playing at the park, or having sleepovers almost every night.

We formed a bond that cannot, and never will be broken.

~*~X~*~

Next up is the last one of these dreaded fillers! Jacob's chapter is up next!

I WANT CANDY (and reviews...)


	56. Remembering Our Past Jacob

I'm sorry I took this week-long vacation, but after I uploaded the last chapter, I got a particularly nasty review on a topic that I'd already covered so I didn't really feel motivated to update.

The result of this review is another rant at the end of this chapter.

So, I went out with some friends on Monday, and we saw The Hunger Games, and a muse hit me like a freight train that I just had to write to, so I did and the result is a short (by my standard) 19-chapter story about The Hunger Games that will be updated every day starting tomorrow.

Now for what you've all been waiting for (Sorry this update's so short- it'll probably get rewritten eventually, along with Paul's and Edited of course!)

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Twilight, but I don't. Stephanie Meyer does, and I own my OCs.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 55 Remembering Our Past-Jacob

~*~X~*~

We can't run from destiny.

No matter how hard you try, you need to accept what is happening, and what will happen.

It doesn't matter if you want to be what you're destined to be, you have to admit what you'll become sooner or later and embrace it; embrace your destiny.

~*~(Jacob Flashback/Narration)~*~

Shock.

Pain.

Sadness.

That was all my little twelve-year-old body could process after dad told me that mom died.

I walked slowly, without any purpose into our living loom from the kitchen. I don't know why I didn't go to my bedroom, or why I climbed onto the couch instead of my bed. I curled into myself, bringing my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around my legs, eyes staring straight forward. I was looking at nothing and something all at the same time- I was in tune with my surroundings, yet I was unable to do anything.

The single most important thing in my life was gone… well maybe one of the two most important things in my life, but they were both gone; both forced to be away from me.

"Jake, time for dinner." Dad called from the kitchen.

I heard but I couldn't respond- my body wouldn't move, my limbs felt heavy; like they were made out of lead, my body not reacting to my attempts at moving, as if it were shutting down without anything to anchor me to the planet.

I could scarcely see dad come in front of me, taking in my appearance before quickly calling a few people.

The first to arrive was Sue, Seth trailing along not far behind. Then Tiffany with Embry, and Joy with Quil.

My three friends gathered around me, trying to extract a reaction from me, anything; but I was too lost within myself to even pay attention to what they were saying- everything that I cared about was gone, and I wanted to be gone too.

Charlie came in the morning, waking Seth, Quil and Embry from their positions around me.

The next day I was starting to feel cold and exhausted. I knew for a fact that even if I tried to move, that I couldn't. I was so far inside myself that I could barely even see anymore.

What happened next saved me from my depression- Bella came running into the room and hugged me.

My vision improved a little bit and I started to warm up, feeling the life slowly pour back into me. I unwrapped my arms from around my knees and moved them to be around Bella, letting my first tears of my mother's death escape as I leaned into Bella's neck, letting the sobs come freely.

The entire room exhaled as I made the first sounds I had in days.

When I could finally remove my head from Bella's neck, sue looked into my eyes, and happily told my dad that they were no longer clouded over like I was dead.

I ate for the first time in what seemed like forever that night, Bella and I sitting on the same chair, us pressed as close to each other as we could be, more out of my necessity to be close to her than anything else.

Over the next two weeks, Bella was nearly at my side twenty-four seven, comforting me and bring me back from the edge that I was standing dangerously close to.

The thirteenth day of her visit, dad told me that Bella was leaving that afternoon.

All of the past two weeks' progress went out the window, and I fell back into depression.

Dad called some people again, and Seth, Quil and Embry were back with each of their mothers, but it wasn't until Bella came running back into the room that I came back to life again, Bella murmuring that she was going to stay.

She helped me through the hard time I had at my mother's burial, me having missed her memorial, Sam having baby sat Bella, Seth, Quil, Embry and I, which wasn't too much of a task, as we pretty much sat on the couch for the entirety of the five hours our parents were gone, each of us drowning in my sorrow.

Over the following years, my childhood crush on Bella waned, and we build a strong friendship, further cemented when they moved onto the rez.

Through everything that's happened in the past two years, we still remained strong, minus the few months after my first phase. We were still Jake and Bells, with Seth and Embry thrown in with an occasional Quil here and there.

Our friendship is still there, but I want there to be more now, now that I understand what it's like to love…

I don't need to be alpha to impress Bells, I don't need power, strength or money- I just need to be me, eighteen-year-old Jacob Black, in love with Isabella Swan. I love her unconditionally, imprinting be damned, for now, always and forever.

~*~X~*~

Salazar's true Heir, I know that's not how blood works, but as addressed in a previous rant- this is how MY story works, and this is MY story, not YOUR story. If something like that were to happen in real life, their blood would clot and the person would eventually die- hence why hospitals generally only use O- (the universal donor) in transfusions, and due to the chance of even rejecting that, the two samples are mixed separately to ensure acceptance. Is this fic the real world? Two letters N. O. This is fantasy, based in a real-world location, of which I have never visited or extensively studied so don't get on me for geological dissimilarities either. All of the information I have on the area and the Quileutte people are either from the books, movies, other fics or my limited research. Hence the Summer festival which really should be Quileutte Days in August. I am not a medical person, nor do I plan to do anything in biology beyond the basic bio courses I've already taken. I'm sorry if you can't stand the lack of Bella's death in the prelude, but if what happened in real life were applied, would there even be anything beyond the prelude? NO. I do not like backseat writers, or frankly idiotic reviews such as yours. Of course I know that that's not how blood works, what do you take me for a moron? I actual did a little research into blood transfusions and the like before starting the story, and I didn't like what I discovered, so I threw the real-life principles out the window. If I kept all of the real-life principals, would there be any werewolves? Vampires? Story? No, No and yes- a very dry plot lacking Bella. I don't want to hear about my lack of following the principals of blood work, because I frankly don't care if they follow real life principals or not. If you can't stand them, then don't read my freaking story. It's as simple as that- GO AWAY.

Now that that's over with...

Next chapter something really big happens!

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	57. Unshakable Devotion

Graduation is coming up!

Next chapter the speeches are written, and the chapter after that is grad!

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns everything except my OCs and muses.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 56 Unshakable Devotion (Ja(Jared)POV)

~*~X~*~

~**June**~

It's been four months since our face-off at the gorge with the red- headed leech, and two months since Paul wad demoted from third-in-command and Nix was promoted to our third.

He adjusted to the change quickly, and despite not having a controlling voice over the others like my beta voice or Sam's alpha voice, he is respected by the entire pack.

Sam and Dustin have grown closer, and Colin and Brady are coming along quickly in learning about their new forms.

Liza has since detected two new faint presences, accompanying the two she sensed at the beginning of the year- one of them being my little brother's. At first I denied what she was saying- Drew was just going through a growth spurt, he had to be, after all, he's only fifteen, and most of us phased when we were seventeen, but I can't deny the signs. He's been filling out lately and he grew about nine inches since the start of the school year.

Both he and Liza are going out, and I can't help but wonder if she's the reason why he hasn't phased yet…

_"Earth to Jared- come in Jared."_Quil's annoying sense of humor came through our mind link, Nix chuckling a little in the background.

**_How dare they make fun of us! Beta order their asses to shut up!_**

I pushed my inner wolf to the complete back of my mind as I refocused on my patrol. Since the incident at the gorge, we always have three wolves out, and have forged an… agreement with the Cullens, where if the situation like that were to happen again, the treaty line would be temporally lifted in order for both sides to be able to pursue the leech.

All of a sudden we felt the ripple of someone phasing, confusion flowing into the shared mind, before a second ripple, and while confusion was added, there was less of it.

_"What's happening to me!"_

_"Drew?"_

~*~(Li(Liza)POV)~*~

It all started on Wednesday, when we received a phone call that changed both Danny's and our lives forever- Our parents had fallen victim to the newborn army corrugated in and around Seattle.

Danny fell into depression, his second presence growing ever stronger, even as Nix and Leah tried to soothe him, but nothing could knock my brother from his emotional high- he needed time, just like Nix did when Cymoril died.

I on the other hand, distracted myself from the pain by hanging out with Drew more. Spending time with him alleviated the pain a little, but no matter how small the amount I _needed_ to be around him- he was as important to me as the air I breathed.

We planned to go on a hike on Friday after school, and that's where we are now.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Drew asked me as we walked up the well-worn trail that was partially covered with the undergrowth- one of the pack's trails, one of Jared's to be more precise.

"Anything, I don't care just as long as it's not about me."

"Okay…" He said, running his hand through his hair, his other hand intertwined with mine "Do you know what Jared does during the day? He's never at home when Dakota and I come back, and when he does come back half the time he's half naked and really dirty…"

That was also a subject that I didn't exactly want to talk about- I know how hard it is for Jared to keep the secret from his siblings, but now that he's graduated the secret's gotten easier for him to keep, after all, half the time he just has to go back with a dirty shirt on and he can feign working late, and of course Drew would only remember the few times that he actually forgot his shirt.

"I don't know."

"But you spend so much time with him! At the Summer festival, you were hanging out with him and his friends, and you always talk to him before he leaves when he drops Dakota and I off…"

"Sure I know him, but I don't pry into his personal life! Sheesh Drew, if you're so curious then why don't you just ask him yourself!"

"So you think I haven't tried? He always gives me the run-around, just like you're doing right now Liza!" Drew was starting to shake- we knew that he was going to phase, but not this soon!

"Drew, calm down…" I said, wiggling my hand out of his grasp, not noticing that I was also shaking.

"What, so now I can't hold your hand? Where are we going Liza! Why can't you tell me…" Drew was cut off as a tremor racked through his body, his image blurring against our forest backdrop. He released a feral scream, before exploding into his wolf form, a deep red-brown wolf with dark brown streaks streaming down his back and a dark brown sock on his front right paw.

He took a step towards me, and I took a few steps backwards, stumbling on a root and falling backwards, Drew still not stopping. I couldn't see that he wasn't approaching me aggressively, my humane instinct of self-preservation taking over my body as tremors racked through my body.

I coiled in on myself as the shaking grew more intense, me not being able to see straight anymore. I looked up at Drew's wolf, noticing the worry etched across his canine face and eyes.

I gasped as I felt myself explode, phasing just like everyone else in the pack.

_"Drew?" _I heard Jared's voice in my head, the first thing I heard in the pack brain, followed by a very familiar voice.

_"Liza?" _Nix asked, I could already tell that Jared and Nix were running towards us, Quil's howl ringing out through the air.

~*~(Dr(Drew)POV)~*~

I was staring at the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, in Liza's place was a light silver wolf, streaks of dark silver streaming down her back with some leaking down her flanks, and a dark silver sock on her left paw.

I unsteadily walked towards her, Liza still not meeting me gaze. I don't know how I knew this was Liza, I mean it had to be her, but I wasn't so sure.

I laid down next to her, our fur brushing against each other's. We both shivered, before she turned her head towards me. I caught her gaze for a second, and everything around me melted away- the forest, the sky, the earth… It felt like gravity itself had lost it's hold on me- the only thing holding me to this planet, the only thing I could live for, was the beautiful silver wolf lying next to me.

After a few minutes we were broken out of our trances, and I leaned over towards Liza, her mimicking my movement. Our heads met in the middle, foreheads, or whatever you call that part of a wolf, pressed against the other's. I could feel Liza's love and adoration radiating off her, enveloping me in it's welcoming warmth…

~*~X~*~

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	58. Senior Power

Sorry this is up so late today- My internet was being a jerk and I fell asleep (A result of staying up all night)

Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable- Stephanie Meyer has that privilege. I do however own my OCs and the unrecognizable bits of plot.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 57 Senior Power (N(Nix)POV)

~*~X~*~

Last week Drew and Liza phased, and imprinted on each other, and seeing as they can't phase back yet, everyone has been feeling their undying love for the other- every sappy poem that Drew made up about her, and every sweet nothing that Liza would reply with; they truly are a match made in heaven.

Graduation is on Wednesday, and with about half of the pack graduating, the pack mind has been jammed full of seemingly random facts from each of our classes that we had finals and tests in, nervousness over grades, and me picking everyone's brain for ideas for my speech.

Yes, I am the valedictorian of the graduating class, and the salutatorian is this girl named Ursula. We've been meeting almost every day to work out our speeches, and we're both stressing about making them perfect. Ursula and I both have to give our speeches over different topics, and Ursula decided that she would mainly focus on fate and destiny, while I would focus on supporting character. Ursula is… Well she's one of those gung-ho destiny people who memorized every horoscope sign, and the meaning of every single card in a tarot deck, inverted or otherwise.

"So Nix, do you know what you're going to write yet?" Ursula's sweet alto voice asked as we were walking to the beach, our preferred place of meeting.

"Somewhat." I responded. Ursula wasn't bad to look at, and if I were in a better emotional state I probably would've babbled with her until I asked her out, But I still haven't gotten over Cymi's death, even though it was over one and a half years ago.

"So we're going to write this time?"

"Sure."

We both settled on a piece of driftwood bleached a shimmering pearl color as we pulled our binders from our bags.

In the front pocket of hers was a drawing of Second beach, so vivid in detail that you could overlook the fact that there was no color and be lost in the natural beauty of the scene. My front pocket contained one of the drawings that Cymi had drawn for me- a lone wolf perched on a rock outside a forest howling at the moon. When she gave it to me, she said that the inspiration just came to her one day as she thought about me. It was always my favorite, the dark blues and greens all seemingly swirling around the red-brown wolf with black socks on all of it's paws- a perfect representation of me.

"Nix? Hello?"

I blinked twice, noticing that Ursula was waving her hand in front of my face "S-sorry, I was just remembering something."

She looked at the picture in the front of my binder "That must mean something to you." She said, going back to writing her speech.

I looked towards her, she was beautiful, the prime picture of what any man would want in a woman, minus all of her fate and destiny mumbo jumbo that she was always spewing. She was beauty personified, whoever she ended up with was a lucky man.

I shifted my gaze to the ocean, the natural beauty captivating me, the blue-gray waves rising and falling, lapping at the sky and the beach, never getting tired, never stopping…

A wolf's howl rang out through the forest, soon joined by two others, their individual howls blending into a beautiful harmony that I listen to on an almost daily basis, the only difference being these howls didn't belong to any of the pack- they belonged to wild wolves, by the sound of it, a male, his mate and their child, the soothing harmony brushing over me just like the wind blowing through my hair; my eyes closed, relishing in the natural beauty coming from the sound. When I opened my eyes again, my pencil hit my paper and I began scribbling out my speech, all inspired by that one moment in time, the sea breeze blowing over us, the wolves' harmony ringing in the distance.

Just forty-five minutes later, we both had our speeches completed, both of us smiling like we had accomplished the best thing of our lives as we walked away from the beach and back to our homes, of which I wasn't planning on spending much time at- I needed to feel the wind through my fur, to relax and have fun with my pack brothers and sisters, after all, we deserved it! Most of us were seniors, and the rest of the pack was virtually all freshmen, most of which needed to relax from the weeks of testing. We all had to endure, the only exceptions being those who had already graduated- Sam, Paul, Jared and Dustin.

I took half a step into the door, dropping my bag just inside the door and kicking my shoes off, before taking off into the woods, stripping my shirt, tossing it somewhere behind me, pausing to drop my pants and secure them under the leather chord that I always wore, and phasing in a dive, the grunt of the pack meeting me in the pack mind.

I ran to the clearing, and took in the sight before me, Jared and Sam padding up beside me, also looking down on the rest of the pack, minus Paul and Dustin who were out on patrol.

Liza and Drew were play wrestling in a small corner of the meadow, their whine, yips and playful growls leaving no room to think that they were any other than in love.

Bella, Seth, Jacob and Embry all took off into the woods at fast paces, leaving Quil behind with his paws over his eyes, silently counting in his head.

Leah was lying down, Danny leaning against her, his hands running through her fur, Leah purring happily content with her place in the world.

Brady and Colin walked up to Quil, nudging him with their noses.

_"Hey Quil, can we play too?"_ Colin asked timidly, intimidated by the older wolf.

The question snapped Drew and Liza out of their own little world, and they padded to Quil too. I sent Sam a pleading glance, knowing that he wouldn't mind if I played too, but the wolf in me needing the assurance that I wouldn't lose my place in the pack by not asking.

Sam nodded once, and I took off towards Quil, joining the four younger wolves. My presence added to theirs finally got Quil to relent, and the five of us shot into the forest in four different directions, Liza and Drew both going the same direction.

We spent virtually the whole weekend in our wolf forms in that clearing, each of us leaving just long enough to eat before returning. If anyone saw us, they would think that we were overgrown puppies, and that was exactly the way we acted, relaxing and paying absolutely no attention to the world around us, each of us lost in the world that we were each forced to enter, not because we had to, but because we _wanted_ to.

~*~(B(Bella)POV)~*~

"Really Alice?" I questioned as I looked at the invitation in my hands.

"Come on Bella- the entire Forks senior class is coming, and I made sure that they _knew_ that it was an open invitation to the La Push Senior class too…"

"This isn't going to end well, I know it…"

"Come on Bella, it's not every day that I can throw a party, please? You can even bring the entire pack with you too…"

"Well I guess that it'll be okay, as long as we're all there."

"Thanks Bella!" Alice exclaimed, hugging me, her skin freezing cold against mine.

"Your welcome…"

"See you Wednesday then…" She called as she took off back into the woods, most likely jetting straight for their side of the line.

"What have I gotten myself into?" I moaned as I went back inside to grab my backpack. Only two more days until graduation, and this huge party that Alice probably planned last month.

~*~X~*~

Graduation is next!

I WANT CANDY! (and reviews...)


	59. Taking the Next Step Forward

Hey everyone, and Sorry I've been gone so long!

You see, I decided to take a week-long break, which turned into a month, then I started plowing through this story, and now I'm only like 12 chapters off finishing it!

Now usually I'd ramble on about this chapter, but I just have one shout-out, then a really long rant that I would like all of you guys to read, if only fir hilarity's sake.

Shout out to Istrvy for inspiring Nix's Valedictorian speech!

Disclaimer: I in NO way hold any rights to these characters- they belong solely to Stephanie Meyer. I do own rights to my OCs such as Nix, Ursula and Danny though.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 58 Taking the Next Step Forward (S(Seth)POV)

~*~X~*~

Everyone was still in their gowns and caps from the procession that went down First and Second beaches before finally returning to the school and walking through the halls in a four person wide line. Every single member of the pack- Jake, Embry, Quil, Bella, Leah, Nix and I, were all over heated in our gowns- those things are heavy, not to mention black…

"Alright everyone, get moving!" one of the teachers yelled, and the black mob that was the graduating class started streaming into our oversized gym.

As we all took our seats in alphabetical order, I looked around our graduating class- Quil was in the fourth chair, Jake a few to his right, and Embry a few from him, two chairs from me, the one directly to my left being occupied by my sister. Nix and Danny were sitting next to each other a few rows back, and Bella was sitting a few rows behind them.

The principal went through his whole 'I'm so proud of these students and wish them the best in whatever they choose to do with their lives' speech, before Ursula stood up to give the salutatorian's speech. It was supposed to go from Nix to Ursula, but they decided that their speeches would go better given opposite of traditional order.

As she walked up to the podium, she brushed her hair behind her left ear, and took a deep breath, closing her eyes.

She opened them and dove right into the speech that both she and Nix had worked on "Friends, family and fellow students… These past four years sure have been a roller coaster, haven't they? We've loved and lost, we've had our emotional highs and lows, we've struggled and excelled in our learning, but as you look back on these last four years, what do you remember the most? Was it getting the A in the class that you were certain that you would fail, or was it your first boyfriend… Or was it your first date or kiss? These things happened for a reason, and even though he may have dumped you after promising you forever, or she cheated on you for whatever reason, every single thing that happens in our lives serves a purpose. Think back to that extremely painful time you went through, you know the one I'm talking about- the time where you thought you couldn't go forward anymore, were you had to physically hold yourself together to keep from falling to pieces. Now imagine that this event had never happened. Would you still be the person you are today, or did that painful time change you for the better? Everything has a reason for happening, and the most common reason is to make us stronger; to shape our personality so that we can say that we did something and survived through the experience. Sure it hurt, but how can you achieve anything if you aren't willing to sacrifice a little to get it?"

There was a moment of silence before the crowd burst into applause, Ursula's cheeks tinted red as she stepped off the stage, and met Nix halfway , both of them exchanging a quick hug and a few words before Nix took his place on the stage to give the valedictorian's speech.

He took a deep breath, and picked out each member of the pack from the audience, all who weren't graduating being in attendance, before picking those of us who were graduating from the seated senior class. Looking straight ahead, he closed his eyes before starting his speech.

"Friends old and new, family distant and close, if you were an animal, what would you be? Any animal at all, the only criteria being that you had to represent the animal as much as the animal represents you. Now, I know a few of you are thinking that you're lions or tigers, or even bears, but the truth is, none of those suit you, any of you. What I feel represents us all is a wolf, a lone wolf. We think we can survive on our own, live by ourselves, carve out our own living; but we can't. Now how many of you are thinking about abandoning your friends after you all disperse around the country, going to different colleges and pursuing different dreams? I know the answer without any of you raising your hands- almost all of you are planning to do that. Just admit it to yourself. Now going on your own might seem like a good idea- think about everything that you've accomplished: winning trophies, going to state, even scoring that cute guy that everyone's been dying to date. Now put that into context against the world out there. Does any of that matter out there? No. We may all be lone wolves, but we can't survive like that- we need a pack, a group to support us and keep us strong, to bring us up when we're feeling down, to help us through those tough times that we all want to forget about. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses, and when we're alone can we effectively work past them? No. With others, could you each work together to overcome each other's weaknesses? Yes. Now let's apply this to a lone wolf. Say you found a mate, and you two had a pup. Could you by yourself defend your family from everything? No. You'll miss one small detail, and then you'll watch as the love of your life- your entire life is torn away from you, your mate, your pup, everything you've worked for… and what can you say that you've gained? Nothing, that's what you've gained- nothing but heartbreak. A pack is strong because everyone combines their own strengths, covering each other's weaknesses, working as a single unit to protect your family. Now imagine that you had a mate and a pup, along with being part of a pack. You could go out and hunt without worrying for their safety, you could mess around with your friends a little, you could defend them without worry of faltering, because you have your whole pack right there behind you, ready to help you defend what's precious to you every step of the way. Now really, which one is more desirable- being a lone wolf or belonging to a pack? There **is**strength in numbers, and friendship is a forged bond that is stronger than anything else imaginable. As we each wander around the wide world, looking for our perfect mate, look for a pack too, a place where you belong. You know when you've found your pack if they welcome you with open arms, no matter what you might be going through. So really, what I'm trying to say is… Go out and find where you belong, build yourself a life that _you_ can be proud of, and most importantly, don't end up the lone wolf wandering aimlessly because you lose everything precious, be the wolf that's part of a pack, ready and willing to protect and defend everything precious to you and your pack mates."

Nix's words rang through the silent air for a moment, before the crowd burst into even more applause than they did for Ursula- some members of the pack were even howling, no one even noticing over the chaos that was ensuing as a result of Nix's speech.

As soon as Nix took his seat next to Danny, the principal started reading off names. Here's where the formality died off a little bit- no middle names, just first and last.

"Quil Atera."

"Jacob Black."

"Embry Call."

"Leah Clearwater."

"Seth Clearwater."

"Daniel Lowell."

"Phoenix Lowell."

"Isabella Swan."

We walked up to the stage as all of our names were called, and we each received our diplomas. We tossed our caps into the air, each of us snatching one before hustling out of the gym.

Once we were outside, chaos ensued as everyone tried to find their own caps. While the whole graduating class was busy asking every person if they had their cap, while the members of the pack and I just sniffed out our caps, and the owners of the caps that we brought out.

We shuffled out of our gowns before getting out of the chaos that was the hallways of La Push High.

~*~(NPOV)~*~

As I walked up to the podium, I was just about sweating under my clothes, not because of the gown, though that thing is bloody hot, but because I was nervous.

_**Come on, you just have to give a speech.**_

_In front of the entire graduating class and their families!_

_**So? You're the alpha third now! You fight vampires for god's sake! What's so nerve racking about giving a speech?**_

_You try giving a speech that everyone will remember for the rest of their lives._

My inner wolf immediately shut up.

I stood behind the podium, my speech all typed up in front of me. I took a long breath, then looked through the audience seated in the bleachers, picking out every member of the pack.

Sam.

Jared.

Drew.

Liza.

Dustin.

Colin.

Paul.

Brady.

Then my eyes drifted through my graduating classmates.

Bella.

Seth.

Leah.

Embry.

Jake.

Quil.

I looked back up from the people who have supported me, just as we support each other, and took another deep breath, closing my eyes. When I opened them again I dove head first into my speech, the speech that was all inspired by the chord of a wolf's family and the friendliness and compassion the pack family.

~*~X~*~

The last words rang in the air, suspended, unmoving, before a wave of applause even greater than I could've imagined erupted in a matter of seconds. I smiled as I heard some of the pack howling, their howls creating a harmony of their own. Virtually the entire graduating class stood up, soon followed by the audience. I tuned out the applause, focusing instead on the howls of the pack. The harmony was music to my ears, reminding me of that day on the beach just a few days ago.

~*~X~*~

As soon as I stepped out of the crowded hallways of the school I was jumped by Liza.

"Ohmygod Nix, that was so awesome!" she squealed, rubbing her head against my chest, leaving Drew to glare daggers at me.

"Sheesh Liza, my speech wasn't _that_ good…" I said, gently pushing my cousin away from me, not because I didn't enjoy her public show of affection- I thought it was cute, but because of her still fairly unstable imprint who just so happened to be able to turn into a wolf too.

"I'll say." Jared said, coming up behind me and smacking hard on my back "That speech was _amazing._ So that's why you've been picking all of our brains for the past few weeks."

"Uh, yeah…" I mumbled, a slight blush touching my cheeks.

"So what brought all that on lil bro?" Dustin asked.

"I actually had the idea of using the pack in the speech as soon as they confirmed that I was valedictorian, but I was having trouble putting the words to paper, hence all of my brain picking- I needed to see what everyone felt for one another, and even with that I still couldn't weave a half decent sentence without exposing the pack, but on Sunday when I met with Ursula, I heard a small family of wolves howling, then I realized that I could just use us as a metaphor…"

"And how long did it take you to write that?" Sam questioned.

"Uh, about forty-five minutes?"

"That's all?"

"Yeah…"

"So when are we going to go to the Cullen's?" Bella asked, creeping up behind us, me not noticing because of the constant bombarding of questions from my pack mates.

"As soon as everyone's ready." Sam responded as Seth and Embry struggled out of the halls, followed closely by Jacob, Quil, Leah and Danny.

~*~X~*~

I honestly have no idea what even happened in this chapter, I just need to rant.

So while browsing through the stuff on JBNP, I saw a pretty popular post about the 'Shades of Gray' trilogy. I read through it, and did some research on my own in the past few hours, and what I came across shocked me- a FFN author was actually making a profit off of publishing a fanfic. A FANFIC! 89% of the novel is identical to the original manuscript, which was pointed out by MTR (I think) was just about enough to change the names of characters and locations. A complete rewrite like the author is claiming would in no way be that similar- this much is evident to me from my rewritten prologue and Paul flashback chapter, which I would say were about 30% similar. THis is what these things called 'disclaimers' are here for- they let others know that we're playing with someone else's toys. This author has STOLEN Stephanie Meyer's toys, and was shot straight up to the top of the radar. I feel that it is entirely within Stephanie Meyer's rights to Sue for copyright claims, since many situations were pointed out on JBNP to be parallel to the Twilight series, not to mention that after only one year the books are to be adapted into movies, though SM had to wait four years for Twilight to be adapted, from which I found out about the books from quite a few of my friends. Why is it fair for someone else to siphon off someone's hard work? While it's true that we each put our our spin of the universe in our fics, we in no way changes the universe enough to justify publishing it, then trying to dig your way out of a black hole that you created by trying to pass off fanfiction as original fiction. Original fiction is what SHOULD be published- where you start with a blank document in front of you, an idea that's entirely yours, and start writing. Can any of us say that about our fanfiction? A few of us can, but not very many. Those of us who can write really good AU could probably make it as an author, but how many of us can say that we can? In my opinion, quite a few of the authors over on JBNP and a few here. But they don't. They instead choose to spend their time posting their works for free here instead of making money off their own original ideas. Now I do realize that writing original fiction and fanfiction draw many parallels, but there is one MAJOR difference- the seed. Fanfiction's seed is the original story, in this case- Twilight. For original fiction, the seed is your imagination- you start with a blank slate, sketch in an outline and paint in the colors, mixing them to make beautiful hues that you can be proud of, and truly say "I own that". No mater how far we stray from the original story, we can't shake the original, something the author of Shades of Gray obviously fails to see. All this author has been able to paint for themself if showing them as a selfish bitch who obviously doesn't have any morals whatsoever. I'm sorry, but this is just wrong. We shouldn't be able to profit off someone else's hard work.

*Phew*

Now that that's over, I'd like to inform all of you that I'll probably be dissapearing for a little bit, but when I do make it back, I'll shower you guys with a week of double updates, sound good? I'm currently juggling three ideas around in my head, CotF, CoW, and my camp NaNo entry, so please forgive me if you don't see me until July. I promise that I'll post stuff on my blog and twitter (check my profile for links).

Please review. It means the world to me.


	60. The Time Has Come

New chapter! YAY!

Okay, I meant to update this yesterday, but I got caught up in finishing Nightshade and starting Wolfsbane. I would have updated sooner, but I just finished Wolfsbane and Bloodrose has sucked me in! I've also begun to notice how only one love triangle has fallen the way I wanted it to out of all the triangles I've read... But that's what fanfiction's for isn't it?

Anyways, for any of you wolfgirls looking for a distraction from Twilight, I highly suggest you read the Nightshade trilogy by Andrea Cremer- they're awesome, and best of all, she doesn't add three adjectives to every word like Stephanie Meyer does! (disclaimer: Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, this just happens to be mine.)

So, an update on the forward progress of this fic... I'm currently writing chapter 80 or 81, I'm not sure, and I'm hoping to hit the last major point of tension before Mother's Day, as a small gift for my most loyal prereaders- my mother and her friend (I know. What's worse is that **I'M** the one that got her hooked on Twilight. -_-')

So again this chapter is unBETAed, and was written about a month (or two) ago so the only Idea I have of what's going on is the vague idea I got from skimming it, and I'll just say it- this is the beginning of the end. The events that transpire here are the start of the chain reaction that essentially will carry this fic to it's conclusion.

Now for the future of my fics- I am planning to participate in Camp NaNo's June session while writing my next fanfic in parallel. I know that writing Orig. Fiction and Fanfiction at the same time will prove to be a challenge, but this way I can guarantee that I will always be sailing on a muse for one or the other, as both ideas came to me at roughly the same time... last December. I've added a brief summary of the Idea of my new fic on my profile. After that I don't know what I'll do- I have another, very underdeveloped muse that I'll probably scrap in the coming months.

All right, now I might as well tell you this- one of the final chapters is a recap chapter where I'll flash back to **your** favorite events. As a result, I'd like it if you told me **your **_ absolute __favorite_ event from this fic so far. I won't tell you what will happen if you don't give me your fav scenes- that's for me to know and for you to cower in fear of *smirks evily and lets out maniacal laughter*

Disclaimer: Not my toys- they're Stephanie Meyer's, but my OCs are MINE!

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 59 The Time Has Come (NPOV)

~*~X~*~

We stopped at the forest's edge, just out of the direct view of the non-vampire graduates inside the house that looked more like a disco ball than a house, colored lights shooting out of the windows, cutting the darkness of the night as the sound waves from inside the house vibrated the foliage directly at the forest's edge.

One person looked out from inside the glass, meeting our gazes. She nodded before shuffling back into the crowd.

Danny climbed off Leah's back, before we all wandered in separate directions to phase- even Paul, Jared, Sam and Dustin were going to go in with us- the only ones who weren't going to go in were Colin, Brady, Liza and Drew- they had to patrol the rez, they just came with us so that they know where to go in case there was an emergency, because with all of the people around us tonight we can't all go running off as soon as we hear a howl- that would look suspicious.

I returned to Danny first, dressed in a dark green short sleeve shirt with a graphic of a howling wolf on it, a pair of forest green shorts, and a pair of white tennis shoes that had so many grass stains that they appeared green.

"So whatcha doin after this?" I asked, moving to stand next to Danny as he gazed upon the Cullen house/ mansion.

"I'm staying here."

"Why?" I asked, turning to look at him, the light from the house illuminating half his face "You aren't tied here like the rest of us, and now Leah can leave too- we have more than enough wolves to cover for her now, especially since Liza and Drew phased…"

"That's just it Nix- Liza phased." Danny turned to face me "You phased, and Dustin phased, and now Liza phased. Before I was hoping to be your brother so that we could both be wolves, but now I realize that I'm probably going to phase too. After all, my sister phased, and she's younger than me! If she truly is my sister then I'll phase too- it's only a matter of time. And if I really am your brother, than the chances are even higher that I'll phase, especially since both you and Dustin have both phased… I just… What if I phased at college? If some stray vampire came too close and triggered it? Then where'll I be? Worse off than if I had just never gone at all!"

I'd never seen Danny get this upset before, well, not since we were little kids at least. "But what are the odds that that'll happen Danny? That a vampire will stray so close to you, especially when you have Leah so close by…"

"I refused to let Leah go with me, if I was going to go- I won't be the reason she abandons you guys. But Nix, look at me." He motioned towards his body, his midnight blue shirt with a graphic of a crescent hugging his figure tightly, each muscle pronounced from underneath the clothing "You told me that this is what happened to you before you changed, what happened to Seth and Jacob, what happened to all of you! The only thing that doesn't match up is Liza- according to her my inner wolf's still just that, something hidden deep inside me. It's only a matter of time before he wakes up and decides to free himself…"

"Sure that's what happened to all of us, but do you remember some of our friends back home? How in eighth grade Ethan was virtually a stick, and when he came back freshman year he had filled out a lot? And swore that he didn't lift a weight all Summer? You could just be filling out Danny…"

"I'd believe that if I weren't your brother, but if I am…"

"Then we just have to get that stupid test done then. At least then we'll know the truth, and we can deal with everything else as it comes."

"Yeah, maybe that would be best…"

"So, how are you going to do this while maintaining the pack secret?" Sam's deep timbre asked from behind us, causing us to snap around, to see the whole of the pack, including Liza, Drew, Colin and Brady who had also phased back.

"Uh…" it would've been so easy if we had just done this last year like we had planned…

"Excuse me?" a high pitched voice came from behind us, bringing with it the smell of vampire.

We all snapped towards the voice and growling, seeing the pixie-like leech behind us.

"I'm sorry, but I just heard about you needing DNA tests done?"

"Yes but…" Sam was cut-off by the Cullen.

"Carlisle studied genetics a few decades ago, and I'm sure that he'll gladly do the tests for you two." She said, motioning to me and Danny.

Everyone looked at Sam, who nodded before looking to Embry.

"Do you think he could do three more?" Embry asked after a moment of silence.

"I'm sure he could do five in a day or so, why do you need DNA tests?"

"Uh…"

"Seth, go get Jake." Sam interrupted. Seth nodded before running deeper into the woods to phase "Embry doesn't know who his father is."

"So? There are what, a few thousand males in the area who could be his father…"

"But my mom is a pureblooded Makah, and I can phase…"

"So? That means… What a hundred Quileutte males that could be his father?"

"But there are only three who could pass the gene one him that would affect him as soon as it did, all of which have children in the pack…"

"Oh… We'll talk to Carlisle when we get inside, come on!"

Alice started walking at a very humanly pace back to the front door, before opening it and releasing the cacophony of sound that was bouncing around all throughout the house.

Liza went in with us, leaving Colin and Brady holding back a panicking Drew. I could understand his panic, after all, his imprint was essentially walking headfirst into a house of vampires.

Alice wove her way through the crowded living rooms, eventually leading us to another living room upstairs that was void of any people, having been stuffed with all of the furniture from the other living rooms and dining room. She lead us down a hallway, before dragging us inside an office/ library, where the doctor was waiting. Jared, Paul, Dustin, Seth and Leah had all broken away from our small group somewhere, Seth waiting near the door to tell Bella and Jake where we were, the others blending into the crowd.

"So you need DNA tests?" Dr. Fang asked. Danny, Liza, Sam, Quil, Embry and I all nodded. "And whose DNA is getting compared to whose?"

Danny Liza and I moved away from the others, who all took a step away from us.

"And this is to discover relationship?" We all nodded. "I'll need a blood sample for each comparison…"

"You guys go first." Embry said, motioning for Liza, Danny and I to go forward first "We still have to wait for Jake."

"So who's the one we need to determine relationship for?"

Danny stepped forward while Dr. Fang was preparing a needle. He looked up for a moment, taking in both Danny and I.

"Are you sure that you need to do this? The answer to your question seems very obvious to me…"

"Yes." I replied "We're cousins, but we think that we're related closer than that."

"Very well then." Carlisle then rubbed an alcohol wipe on the inside of Danny's arm, before poking the needle inside a vein, drawing blood into a small vial, only about three centimeters high. He filled two of these vials with Danny's blood, before taking one vial of both mine and Liza's. He had us write our names on an official- looking piece of paper that was no doubt just used for protocol, before repeating the same process with Embry.

Sam was just about to be poked as Liza, Danny and I were about to leave when Jake barged in. "Sorry I'm so late…" Jake started, but the three of us didn't hear the rest as we left the room.

"Be safe out there, okay Liza?" I told her, Danny looking lonely as she nodded and ran out onto the second story deck and leaped over the railing, landing graciously on her feet before jogging into the woods. I heard a very joyful bark a few seconds later.

"Nix, I…"

"Don't worry about a thing Danny." I told him as we descended the stairs, back into the chaos that was the grad party for both the La Push High and Forks High graduates "Go find Leah, she's probably waiting for you to dance with."

"Yeah… sure." He responded, wandering into the crowd, ignoring the looks he was getting from the girls.

A sweet smell drifted to my nose, not the sickly sweet smell of sugar mixed with bleach that marked a vampire, but sweeter- like roses mixed with sugar and the clean smell of the air after fresh rain.

I looked around, spotting Danny and Leah swaying gently against each other, Paul grinding against some blonde from Forks, and Jared joking around with the big Cullen.

The scent wrapped around me again, this scent called out to me, to my wolf. He snapped to attention in my head; if he had a physical form, he would've been drooling **_Follow that scent, that beautiful scent…_**

I wandered through the crowd, always seeming one step behind the person the scent was coming from, my head was starting to get hazy from the scent being wrapped around me for so long.

I broke through the crowd to see a girl standing on the deck, her hands on the mahogany railing. I focused on her as I stepped out into the cool nighttime air, not noticing that Leah, Danny, Seth, Jared and Dustin were following me, waiting just on the other side of the glass.

Her hair was hanging loosely around her shoulders, the black strands falling not much further than the top of her shoulder blades without a single wave or curve. Her red dress flared out a little at her waist, falling into a gentle wave just below her knees, her back covered by a transparent red mesh.

As I took a few steps closer, I noticed the silver charm bracelet on her left wrist, six charms dangling from the silver links, each a pokemon, each one of my favorites, matched on her right wrist by another charm bracelet with six charms on it as well, the six pokemon seeming so familiar to me…

Torchic, Buneary, Plusle, Minun, Pikachu and Eevee on the right, Mudkip, Togepi, Espeon, Gallade, Cherim and Buizel on the left. Both combinations so familiar, yet I couldn't remember where I had remembered them from.

I walked up next to her, leaning on the railing facing out into the woods, her scent embracing me. "Why are you out here? The party's inside."

"It's just so much more peaceful out here, the woods are so soothing, sometimes I wonder what's in those woods, but I'm always too scared to go out, with the missing hikers and all…"

"I know what you mean."

"There's also all of the howling going on now, but the sound is much more beautiful than it was before, all of the howls combining into one sound that sounds so perfect…"

"Yeah, maybe… Maybe we could go hiking later?" I asked, turning my head to look at her.

"That… That would be nice." She responded, turning her head towards me. Through the red-framed glasses I saw perfect brown eyes, the color of molten chocolate, as pure and smooth as the finest chocolate bar in the world- Belgium, Swiss, and French chocolate had nothing on her eyes.

The world around me slowly faded away, my inner wolf howling in delight as we became the only two things in the dark void. Gravity lost it's hold on me as her scent surrounded me, the sugared rose the best scent I'd ever smelt in my entire life. Gravity couldn't hold me to the planet any longer- her, only her could do that.

"N-Nix?" She asked hesitantly, taking in my muscled form.

I nodded.

"I-I can't believe…" Tears started pouring out of her eyes, and I immediately started blaming myself.

"Shh, It's okay…" I consoled as I pulled her into a hug, her head resting against my chest as I ran my fingers through her hair.

"We… You… Fifth grade…"

"I know… I know Kathy. Let's just forget everything now, I shouldn't have left the way I did… I'm sorry…"

My elementary school crush, the girl whose heart I broke with the news that I was dating Cymoril, the girl who now meant the world to me… Well wolf, you could've done worse, much worse.

**_I know._**

But I still can't shake the feeling that I'm betraying Cymoril- that I'm cheating on her… I can feel the imprint, but t's still a bit muddled- I… I need closure, I need to visit Cymi… Apologize again, tell her that I'll always love her, tell her that I'm ready to finally move on.

_Thanks for this, I'm happy you aren't forcing me to forget her._

**_You're welcome… Forcing you to forget her would cause you to push me away, and… this is what's best for you._**

_I… Thanks…_

We stood there on the deck, a newly imprinted couple, oblivious to the entire world around them, even the two howls that cut through the night air, the howls of Drew and Liza.

~*~X~*~

Reviews make me so happy, almost more so than candy...


	61. The Second Round

Hey everyone, and here's a new chapter you y 'all.

I would've updated sooner, but I went with my step-grandfather and step-uncle to a few places while all the females were at my aunt's baby shower. Us guys just ran.

Anyways, I had a heart to heart with my step- uncle, which was interesting (Along with learning that my grandpa's perverted)

So... Yeah. Here's your next chapter.

Also, I'll try to post ten chapters next week, but we'll see how I can do with posting chapters from my phone during lunch.

Ciao~

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 60 The Second Round (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

"Where's Nix?" I asked, wondering why Seth was there instead of Nix.

"He…" Seth looked at Jared, who just shrugged "Nix… he imprinted."

Bella's eyes grew, and I could see her start to panic. I pulled her into a hug and whispered soothingly ito her ear "It's okay now Bells, a third of the pack has imprinted…"

"-but this makes five out of fifteen, soon to be eighteen Jake..." She sobbed.

"Wait, eighteen? Who are the other three presences that Liza's sensing, and why don't we know?" Jared asked, slipping into beta mode.

"Danny, and two eighth graders that are going to be freshmen next year."

"That still doesn't answer why she didn't tell us…"

"You never asked."

"Bells, we need to get going- Drew and Liza are waiting for us, and it'll take us some time to get undressed as it is…"

"Y-you're right Jake." She sniffed, pushing herself away from me "We have to help them."

We all took off into the forest, and left our clothes hanging from trees hidden from the direct view of the Cullen house before phasing.

_"What's wrong?"_ I asked Liza as Bella phased in.

_"We… Drew saw something run from Bella's house, then we smelled blood and vampire…"_

My focus was interrupted as a flash of gold flew right past me, causing me to chase after her too.

_"Bella, what's wrong?"_

_"Charlie didn't have to work tonight- he took the day off today, and went straight home!"_

_"Oh god…" _Seth thought as he caught the tail end of the conversation, not needing to be filled in any more than Bella's blind panic that was flooding the pack mind.

_"Where are Colin and Brady?" _Jared asked, joining in the mad dash towards Bella's old house.

_"I think they went to get food? They said that they'd be at Emily's for a little bit…"_

_"And Drew?" _After we howled, he went to get them.

_"Where are you now?" _

_"Um, in the woods by Charlie's house?" _Liza let out a surprised yelp as Drew phased in and Bells leaped over her, jetting from the woods making a straight beeline to the back door, which was wide open.

We all watched through Bella's eyes as she wandered through the kitchen, the scent of leech heavy in the air, a thin trail of blood trailing from the living room. We all felt Bella's horror as she took in the pool of blood on the floor around the sofa, and the huge crimson stain on the brown upholstery.

_"T-they didn't e-even leave h-his body…" _Bella mumbled as she collapsed to the floor, resting her head on her paws.

_"Seth, you and Jared should go back to the party- I'll stay with Bells." _I suggested as I slowly padded across the grass, squeezing my way in through the back door.

_"Kay. Liza and Drew, go back to Emily's and tell Colin and Brady that they'd better get their asses out into the forest, and why don't you add that they're running double patrols for twenty days, and the midnight patrol for ninety." _Jared responded, dishing out his punishment which would serve as a cushion for when Sam exploded on them later.

_"Bells?" _I hesitantly padded next to her, lying down beside her _"Block our thoughts?"_

Bella looked at me, before extending her shield over me.

_"It's all my fault Jake, if I hadn't let Alice con me into going to that party…"_

_"It's not your fault Bells, there was nothing you could've done either- even if you had stayed then you would've been all alone to defend Charlie…"_

_"At least then I could've tried to protect him, maybe let them take me instead…"_

_"**No!**" _I was surprised that my wolf was joining me in this conversation, but I couldn't care all that much at the moment _"Bells, I- I couldn't live without you; If you died then I would've killed myself."_

_"What? Jake, no! What about Billy? What about the pack? What about being alpha…?"_

_"I never wanted to be alpha Bella, all I've ever wanted is you. The fact that you're a wolf too is just the icing on the cake." _I leaned over and licked the side of her face, her leaning into me as I rested my head on top of hers. _"Dad can do fine without m-, after all, there is a whole pack of werewolves that pretty much have to do anything he asks them to."_

_"But Jake, I wouldn't want you to give up your chance at having kids, at having a life that somewhat resembles a normal life because of me…"_

_"Bells, have you even looked around? Our life is anything but normal. I mean, we turn into wolves and fight vampires… And besides, the only person I want to have kids with is you, Bells…"_

_"Oh Jake…" _I could tell that Bella's eyes were starting to water as she leaned further into me, pressing our flanks as close to each other as possible.

We stayed like that for a while, our fur intertwined with the others', reveling in the silence that Bella's barrier produced, just me and her, Jacob and Bella… Jake and Bells…

~*~(SPOV)~*~

Jared and I ran through the woods as fast as we could, sensing Jake and Bella's minds disappearing from the pack mind, but not feeling the familiar tingle of them phasing back.

We rushed through putting our clothes on, ending up running in the house with a very, _very_ disheveled look.

The pack and Cullens were watching us, and Jared motioned towards the stairs, before each member of the pack and member of the Cullen Coven worked their way towards the stairs leading upstairs.

All of us corrugated in Carlisle's office, Sam poped the question that hung in the air "What happened?"

"Because Colin and Brady were off duty, and Drew went to go get them, Charlie was abducted by a vampire."

"What?" Alice shrieked, before her eyes zoned out.

~*~(A(Alice)POV)~*~

_A vampire with ruby red eyes came to an abrupt halt under a highway impasse, dropping the burden that he was carrying- a man in a police uniform that was so bloody that none of the symbols or insignias could be made out. There was graffiti on the concrete, before a flash of red zoomed in._

_"Good job Riley, you did well." The female said as she picked up the body, bending the head to one side._

_"Just do it Victoria, we need to get him under control before we leave in two weeks."_

_"I know sweet Riley." She turned back to the body, whispering "Welcome to the army." And biting. The scream that followed shocked me more than the figure coming into focus- it was Charlie's scream._

_The figure had hair the color of fire, and scarlet red eyes, which looked straight at me before she ran off._

~*~(SPOV)~*~

"Victoria…" Alice mumbled as her eyes came back into focus.

"Alice darlin', what did you see?" Jasper asked, immediately at Alice's side.

"V-Victoria ch-changed Charlie, a-and as soon as they get him under control they're coming here…"

"How long does it take a newborn to get under control Jasper." Carlisle asked, looking at his 'son'.

"It took Maria and I a few days, but that was with my gift, so maybe five? Seven? It really depends on how they try to control him at first…"

"So we have at most eight days to get ready for the whole army to come here?" Sam asked, trying to keep a strong, stoic exterior, but failing to reign in all of the fear in his voice.

"Yes, I believe so." Jasper responded.

"Great. We graduate and now we have to put our lives on the line not even a week after…" Quil groaned.

"We'll help." Carlisle stated.

"That's a really kind offer but…" Sam started.

"No, that wasn't an offer- we're going to help. Jasper has experience with newborns- he can help train us; and besides, it's our fault that Victoria's after Bella in the first place; we're going to do anything to ensure that she's safe again."

"If you insist…"

"We do. How about we meet in a meadow about two miles north north west of here tomorrow at ten?"

"We'll be there." Sam responded "Come on- we need to tell the elders about this."

We all rejoined the party, and filtered out one by one, until only Nix, Danny, Leah and I remained, Nix and Kathy still out on the deck.

"Nix, we need to leave." Danny coaxed, trying to get Nix to come back with us.

"No." He snapped back, slightly tightening his grip around Kathy.

"We're going tell her tonight Nix." Leah told him "Just think of meeting the Elders as something on the side that we have to do."

"Fine." Nix responded, following the three of us out, Kathy in tow after telling her cousin where she was going.

After Leah and I phased, we slowly walked out of the forest, and Kathy nearly screamed, and she would've if it hadn't been for Nix's hand clamping over her mouth.

"Don't worry- they won't hurt you, see?" he motioned towards Danny, who was cuddling with Leah, the nighttime air a little cooler than average.

Kathy nodded.

"Now I'll be gone for a few minutes, and another wolf will be here- a red-brown one, and when he comes out, I want you to look into his eyes, and tell me whose eyes you see, okay?"

She nodded again, and Nix went into the forest to phase.

When he came out again, in his wolf form, Kathy met his gaze.

"Nix…" she mumbled.

He nodded, and she ran towards him, flinging her arms around him.

Happiness radiated off him, you couldn't miss it, never could you miss the happiness that he was exerting at his imprint having accepted that he was a wolf.

~*~X~*~

Please review- the more reviews I get, the more frequent updates you get.


	62. Facing Reality

Hey, I'm going to start getting back into the swing of uploading this week!

I hope all you moms out there had a happy Mother's Day, I know I made sure my moms' was the best yet *Cough*gourmethomecookedfood*Cough*

I'd also like to remind all of you that I am participating in Camp NaNo this June, but I will try to keep my updates steady, though there will be no guarantees.

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the unrecognizable plot. the Characters, and original plot belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*

Call of the Forest 61 Facing Reality (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

Seth and Embry came by about an hour after Jared and Seth left to return to the Cullen's party, in human form, snapping Bella out of the uneasy sleep that took me a good half hour to coax her into.

As soon as I could see them, I sent both of them a death glare, freezing them in place. Or, I think it was the glare. It could've been the sheer amount of blood, or the fact that both Bella and I were still wolves, but what does it matter? They woke Bella up when all she needed was a lot of rest!

A low, irritated growl rumbled in the back of my throat, showing our friends and brothers that we did not in any way appreciate their intrusion.

"Calm down Jake." Seth said, taking a step back.

"Yeah Jake, we just came here to tell you something…"

I still wasn't happy with them, but I perked my ears up and pointed them towards both of them, showing that I at least had some interest in what they had to say.

"Well, Sam and Jared thought that it would be a good idea to tell the council about…" Embry glanced at Bella, who was starting to curl into a ball against my flank "some things, and Billy's not really taking it all that well…"

My eyes widened at the mention of my dad- What could Sam and Jared have told my dad that he wouldn't take all that well? If they told him about Charlie then he would say that there's still a chance that he could be saved- he was always optimistic like that, it took a lot to break his barrier of optimism. I briefly thought about going back to check on him, but that thought was quickly squished by the sight of Bella curling into an even tighter ball.

I motioned at the ball of golden fur pressing itself into my flank with my muzzle; Seth and Embry seemed to understand the gesture.

"Don't worry Jake- We'll help you carry her back."

Well, they didn't exactly understand it.

But, with Bella close to the house I can run between her and dad as often as I needed to.

I nodded, pulling myself away from Bella while standing up.

A small whimper escaped from her mouth, before she curled into an even tighter ball. I nuzzled what I assumed to be her head- her fur just flowed into itself so smoothly at the moment that the only thing I had to go on was the longer hair that we have covering our necks. She relaxed a little bit, relaxing more as soon as Embry and Seth attempted to lift her, the barrier that she had placed over her mind lifting slightly.

_"Can you walk outside Bells? We need to get back to dad's house…"_ It sounds so strange not calling it my house, but virtually every pack member is staying at the cabin now, except Embry.

_"Why?"_ Even through the mind link her voice was scratchy, worn from crying.

_"Dad's not in such good shape right now…"_

Bella slowly uncurled from her ball and stood shakily, swaying to her right before being caught and steadied by Seth and Embry.

We carefully guided her out the door, and once I was outside with her, I was on her left side, her leaning heavily against me as we walked toward the tree line. Once we entered the protective cover of the trees, Seth and Embry joined us in their wolf forms, Seth supporting Bella's right side, him and Embry taking turns helping support her as we walked through the forest. I only left her side when we reached my dad's house, so I could phase and see what had dad so upset.

As I walked into the living room, virtually the whole pack was crammed into the small room, save for Liza, Drew, Nix, Seth, Embry, Colin and Brady. Colin and Brady I can assume are out on patrol, while Nix is probably with his imprint, and Liza and Drew are either sleeping at the cabin or with Nix, helping to explain the whole thing.

"Jake, the psychic had a vision…" Jared started.

"So? She probably has those all the time…"

"Not like this." Jared sighed "Her vision was about Charlie, and the army that's coming… when his change is complete…"

I felt the color drain from my face- Charlie was going to be turned, and the army would be coming soon… Bella! She's so close that she had to have heard that…

My thoughts were interrupted be an anguished howl, followed by Embry and Seth cramming into the room.

"Jake, we have a small problem…" Embry mumbled.

"Really Em? I didn't know." I retorted, shoving Seth out of the way as I dashed out the door, almost tripping over the mass of gold fur just at the base of the final step of the porch.

I phased on the spot, not even bothering about ripping my shorts- Bella was the first thing on my mind at the moment.

~*~X~*~

Two days have passed.

Two days since Charlie's gone missing.

Two days Bella hasn't eaten anything.

Two days Bella hasn't drank anything.

Two days we've missed training.

Two days we haven't moved.

Sam and Jared have been starting to get desperate- so desperate that they considered anything to try to get Bella out of her comatose state, but it wasn't until Nix had the sense to suggest something that none of us had even thought about that Bella showed signs of getting better.

Nix was standing with Jared and Sam a few feet from Bella and I. Since Bella heard the Charlie was being turned into a vampire, the only movement that she's exerted was within a few minutes, and that was to cuddle further into my soft belly fur, and since then I haven't moved, and neither has she. She doesn't eat when anyone puts food in front of us- I usually end up eating it all. Every time when they come out to collect the empty plate, I shake my head, showing that Bella hadn't eaten anything. At first they blamed it on me eating it all first, but after the first few plates that they saw me shove in front of her nose, only to eat myself forty minutes later, they were convinced that I was giving her plenty of time to eat.

"She was friends with some of the Cullens, right?" Nix asked from behind me.

I jumped a little bit, before remembering back to the gorge, and how she spent all her time with them when I'd phased.

I managed a small nod.

"Then we should let the ones she's closest to come see her…"

I felt Bella shift a little under me, relaxing slightly. I was startled for a little bit, but I quickly forgot her movement as she pressed herself deeper into my belly fur.

The movement didn't escape Nix. "So it's probably safe to assume that she's good friends with the big one..."

I growled a little- Bella did NOT need to hear her friends nicknames right now, even if they weren't as bad as they could be…

"Sorry…" Nix muttered under his breath, apparently understanding that Bella didn't need this as much as I did "So we probably should bring Emmett, and that female one, the one that caught her when they met us at the border, um… Anne?"

"Alice." Sam filled in.

"Right, Alice. There's also the moth… Esme too- she took care of Bella when she was shot…"

"It couldn't hurt to bring Carlisle too, you know for a check-up or something…" Jared added.

"We'll go get them- Emmett, Alice, Esme and Carlisle, right?" Sam asked Nix, who just nodded in response "Let's go Jared."

About a half hour later, the smell of vampire assaulted our noses, before Emmett, Alice, Esme and Carlisle appeared above me, Sam and Jared trailing them.

"Oh my god, Bella…" Alice screeched, impulsively reaching out to run her fingers through Bella's fur.

"Hey Belsie." Emmett said, wedging one of his arms between me and Bella, which was a feat in and in of itself, and lifting Bella off the ground in a bear hug that probably would've crushed bones if she wasn't a werewolf.

After he replaced Bella against my stomach, I could feel that Bella had relaxed quite a bit from before they came.

"Get Seth and Embry." Nix whispered to Sam and Jared, who ran off into the woods.

"Here, eat these." Esme said, pulling a platter of sandwiches out of a bag that I hadn't even noticed her bring, pulling plastic wrap off the neatly stacked pile, gently setting the whole thing in front of Bella's head, which was now distinguishable from the rest of her body.

Nix was nearby, watching Bella's reactions to the Cullens as closely as I was, and took in a sharp breath as Bella made an attempt at a sandwich, but was too weak to lift her head.

"Here." Alice said, stroking her fur again, removing a sandwich from the top of the pile and holding it in front of Bella's muzzle. Bella took a weak bite, before thr rustling of the bushes indicated that Seth and Embry had made an appearance.

They growled at first, seeing four vampires around Bella, on our land, it would've been a surprise if they didn't, but they quieted when the notices Alice feeding Bella- the first sandwich now almost all gone.

"Jacob, could you please move so I can examine her?"

"He hasn't moved since two days ago Carlisle." Nix cut in "From what we can tell, he's the only thing holding Bella together, in fact Emmett's hug was the first time that she'd been away from his side for the past two days."

Seth and Embry joined us, and as if in response to all of her close friend's presences, Bella's body relaxed a lot, her breathing evened out, and her eyes closed- she fell asleep.

Alice moved, and Carlisle took the time to examine her.

"I'm no vet, but I'd say that other than minor dehydration and her apparent lack of food, she's physically fine. I can give her a more thorough examination if you can get her to the clearing when we train today or tomorrow."

I nodded my response.

Alice and Emmett stayed until Bella woke up, and finished hand feeding her the sandwiches, occasionally giving me one when Bella would refuse to eat it, bucking her head towards me instead.

It took until sunset, but Embry, Seth, Emmett, Alice and I managed to get Bella on her feet and walking around a little.

The shine in her eyes as she was surrounded by friends- the shine that only results from a smile, a true smile that reaches her eyes, the smiles she would always have when we were kids, the smiles that kept me from depression when mom died, the smiles that all but disappeared when I phased…

Even though I knew it, have known it all along, I'm in love with Isabella Swan, and nothing- I mean **nothing** will tear me from her; not imprinting, not death… I don't need an imprint to tell me anything- I'd be anything she needs, do anything… anything at all.

~*~X~*~

Please review- it makes me a happy wolfie o'.'o


	63. Battle Preparations

This is a really short chapter, sorry for that.

To tell you the truth, this chapter is probably going to be rewritten before my out take reel, so look for more substance when that happens.

Now, I realize that I've left some blank lead ons, such as leaving an open possibility for Bella teaching Emily to cook(better tasting) food. I'd like to know some out take ideas that you all would like to see, and what chapter the lead-on was in.

Also, I'm starting to wrap up this story- I'm currently writing chapter 83, and like chapter 87 is a chapter dedicated to your favorite moments. I'd appreciate it if you left your favorite moments/ chapters in a review. If you do then you'll get a shout-out in the epilogue. So please leave me your favorite moments, please... *whimper w puppy dog eyes*

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 62 Battle Preparations (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

It's been five days since Charlie's kidnapping, and we've spent every minute of the past three packing as much training in as possible. Bella's had to leave the clearing more than once, unable to see us wolves going at it with the Cullens. Every time that happened, I would just patiently sit with her while she cooled down somewhere deeper into the forest.

Besides that, Nix's imprint- Kathy has fit in with the pack nicely, helping Bella and Emily cook, and being Danny's shoulder to cry on when Leah's out somewhere. Again, their imprint isn't packed full of romance like Sam's, and so far none of the imprinted wolves personalities have changed drastically like the legends described- the only case really being Sam; Liza and Drew are still like their old selves, Leah is still Leah, albeit much nicer, and Nix is still the level-headed almost overly analytical person he was. If anything, the imprints have helped unite the pack even more.

"This will be the perfect place to ambush them." Jasper explained as we walked into a large, open meadow "Bella just needs to leave a trail of blood leading here, then her scent needs to disappear."

Nix turned to me, apparently he and Jasper had worked this whole thing out while the rest of us were throwing ourselves at the other Cullens. "That's where you come in Jake."

"What?"

"Your scent can mask hers…"

"But they're both wolves, wouldn't their scents be too similar?" Emmett asked.

"Yes, but their scent changes slightly when they're shifted, and that difference should be enough to cover Bella's scent." Jasper explained.

"So I'm going to ride on Jake's back?"

"Yep."

"So, do we know when they're coming yet?"

"Yes." Alice responded "All of their futures disappear tomorrow, just past dawn."

~*~(BPOV)~*~

Jake and I were up at midnight, a small pocket knife in hand, meeting Alice and Emmett at the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

"Are you sure you'll be all right?" I asked Alice and Emmett as I slipped out my pocket knife, snapping one of the knives into place.

"Yep." Emmett said as he turned away, pinching his nose closed.

Alice just nodded before pinching her nose shut as well.

I held the knife to my finger, closed my eyes and pressed the knife into the pad of my right index finger, sliding it across the skin, leaving a small red gash on the tip of my finger.

I rubbed some of the blood off on a few rocks, before Alice and Emmett led us into the woods, me touching a few leaves or tree trunks every ten yards or so, recutting my finger about every fifteen minutes.

Jake must've noticed that I was starting to look sick, because after the second time recutting my finger, he took the knife and did it for me.

When we arrived at the clearing that Jasper and Nix had picked for the fight, I left some of my blood in the middle of the clearing while Jake went into the woods to phase.

Once Jake's russet wolf stepped out of the woods, Alice and Emmett said their goodbyes, before taking off to get the rest of the Cullens, and to get Edward to send Victoria on a wild goose chase- given that she thinks that we're mates she'll think that he wouldn't leave me, so he'll lead her in circles while Jake and I get to a campsite that we had set up the night before.

I ran over to hug him, wrapping my arms around his great, big furry neck, a slight purr rumbling from his throat as he closed his eyes and leaned into me.

"God Jake… Your fur's so soft…" I mumbled as I nuzzled my face into his long neck fur.

Some sort of distorted laugh came from his wolfy throat, before he looked at the bracelet that was still secured on my wrist, albeit quite loose so that I don't have to worry about it when I phase.

Jake pressed his wet nose into my stomach, before flicking his head behind him.

"Okay okay… I'm getting on." I leaped on his back, half expecting him to buckle at least a little bit under my added weight, but what's an extra hundred pounds to a werewolf with two hudred pounds of muscle?

"Let's go Jake."

I wrapped my arms around his neck as he started off at a trot through the forest, slowly easing into a straight out run as we got further and further from the field, me pressing myself further into his fur, inhaling as much of Jake's earthy scent as possible.

~*~X~*~

Reviews make me so happy, almost more so than candy...


	64. The Final Encounter Part I

Here's the first part of the final encounter!

These next four chapters all essentially cover the same moments, just from different POVs. I hope you enjoy the final encounter!

I need to know what all of your favorite moments in the story are. Please leave them in reviews *puppy dog eyes*

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 63 The Final Encounter-Part I (AlicePOV)

~*~X~*~

"Come on Emmett!" I called, ready meet Bella at the Strait to leave a trail leading to the meadow.

"God Alice, a few seconds won't mater!" he called back, sounding as if he were struggling with something.

I giggled a little bit, imagining Rose hanging off him, begging him not to go, especially after what happened with Paul… That'll never happen- Rose'd never do that.

"Come on Rose- It's only going to be Bella and Jacob…"

Wow. I never would've thought…

"But Emmy, one of them attacked you and you can't be sure that it wasn't one of them…"

"Bella actually pushed the silver one away, and Jacob came to comfort her Rose. You know that."

This is so rich! If my tear ducts could still produce tears my eyes would be watering. This is so funny! Usually it's Emmett whining to Rosalie about something, not the other way around!

"Besides Rose- it's Bella and Jacob. We both know that Bella wouldn't let him hurt us, even if he didn't have the control he does have…"

Emmett was cut-off by a rather loud whimper from Rosalie, followed by the sound of something hard hitting a wall, causing a few of the vases resting on the tables to shake a little.

Then Emmett was beside me, pulling my arm like a little kid… a really muscular little kid, pulling me out the door.

"Come on Alice- before Rose finds a rope or something."

I giggled a little before darting out the door, Emmett trailing a little behind me.

We arrived at the rocky shore moments before Bella and Jacob emerged from the forest. Bella was holding a small pocket knife in her right hand, spinning it nervously in her hand.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Bella asked us as she slipped one of the knives from it's place in the red casing.

"Yep." Emmett responded, turning away slightly and pinching his nose shut.

I nodded as I pinched my own nose shut. I watched as Bella pressed the steel blade to her right index finger, flinching away a little as a small red gash was left. She smeared some of her blood on a few of the rocks, before we went into the woods. Bella had to recut her finger about every fifteen minutes, and after a while Jacob took over the responsibility of cutting her finger.

The shy was just starting to show a subtle orange gradient on the horizon as Emmett and I ran away from the meadow to retrieve our family. All of our immediate futures started fading away as the battle drew nearer, our distant futures already black- our futures each depending on the outcome of this battle.

"Bella and Jacob are heading for their camp." I announced as soon as Emmett and I walked through the door, just to turn on our heels already knowing where we were going.

"Then it's time." Jasper mumbled, completely unnecessarily- everyone already knew what they were going to do, Edward's role being the most important of all ours. He was to lead Victoria away, distract her long enough for us to disseminate her army and go for her.

Rosalie was stuck to Emmett's side during our run to the meadow- a crowbar and metal baseball bat clanking against each other from their place strapped to her waist.

We stopped in the middle of the clearing- Edward continuing to the shore where he would hopefully catch Victoria…

All of our futures were gone at this point, and the wolves came a few at a time, taking their positions. It became a waiting game- we were waiting for Seth's whimper signaling that they were coming. Seth has the most sensitive hearing of all the wolves, so Jasper made him our 'lookout.'

A few of the wolves were starting to get restless, until the quiet whimper came.

A single female broke the tree line first, her immediate future hitting me- a flurry of sandy colored streaks before complete blackness.

The newborns charged, and we met their charge head-on. Emmett threw as many punches as he could, and Rose was swinging her crowbar like a madwoman, shattering the shoulder of a newborn before completely breaking another in half.

Carlisle and Esme started tag teaming a few while Jasper made decapitating them look easy.

The wolves then streamed into the meadow, joining in the fray as the confused newborns looked for an escape route. They immediately jumped into the fight, some of them leaping at the same newborn while others took on their own. I watched as Seth snapped the neck of the female's whose brief future I saw.

I saw a brief vision of a newborn punching at me from the left, and I leaned right, a fist appearing in my peripheral vision. I twisted around, jumping as he sent a roundhouse kick my way. I reached foreward after his leg was clear and he was slightly off balance, gripping his head before twisting, the sound of clay being ripped apart assaulting my ears before I threw the head at one of the newborns that a wolf was fighting, distracting it long enough for the wolf to pounce. He sent me a grateful look before he charged straight for me.

I panicked for a brief second before seeing another brief glimpse of a future- me disappearing suddenly before a flurry of gray-black streaks. Glancing back at the wolf, which was gray and black, I took a few steps towards him before pirouetting to his right, stopping the spin to see him tearing apart another newborn.

Some of the wolves' fighting styles started to change- they started becoming more primal, more like their real-life wild cousins rather than the way they all started. Some of the ones who couldn't handle it were probably submitting to their instincts, and as long as they didn't attack any of us I couldn't care less.

Bella's howl echoed through the clearing as Emmett tore a newborn from the dark silver wolf's flank, smashing the newborn's head to smithereens, tossing the body behind him to be met with Rosalie's crowbar. Emmett and the gray wolf gave each other a slight nod before they dove back into the fight.

The fail safe! It's times like these when I wish I could see past these stupid mutts!

Arg!

Edward would have stopped leading Victoria in circles by now and be leading her straight for Bella!

Seth and the gray and black wolf from before both took off into the woods- their backup.

There's nothing the rest of us can do but continue to hold off the newborn army.

~*~(EdwardPOV)~*~

"Bella and Jacob are heading for their camp now." Alice announced as soon as she walked through the door, followed closely by Emmett.

"Then it's time." Jasper said, the first to go back out the door, flanked by Alice, who was followed by Emmett and Rosalie, then Esme and Carlisle.

We ran to the meadow, emerging into the open field covered with wildflowers; Viola adunca, Sisyrinchium idahoense, Lonicera ciliosa, Aster chilensis, Alisma plantago-aquatica, and Aquilegia Formosa among the wild plants. It's funny, how this is going to be the site where many will lose their lives, and yet it is still so beautiful.

I stayed with my family until the first wolves appeared, then I followed Bella's scent through the forest down to the water, where I walked a little ways down the rocky beach before going into the forest again.

I was starting to get impatient, when I started hearing jumbled thoughts, and not just the thoughts of a few people, no- more like the jumbled thoughts of people at the graduation party that Alice had planned…

They were close… I heard splashing, and took off from my location through the woods in a winding route in an effort to hopefully lead Victoria away from the others, where I can burn her myself.

I started to hear her thoughts- she was following my trail, hell bent on finding Bella whom she assumes is hiding with me, despite the trail of blood that gets fresher the further it goes into the forest.

I lead Victoria in a winding path, before I heard a howl- Bella's howl. The last resort fail-safe that would signal to me, my family, and the wolves that our plan had failed and that Jacob and Bella had been found. It signaled for me to give up the wild goose chase I was sending Victoria on, as well as summon the help of a few of the wolves.

I immediately shifted my course to where Bella was camped out with Jake, barely catching one of Victoria's thoughts: _Good job Riley._

~*~X~*~

Reviews make me so happy, almost more so than candy...


	65. The Final Encounter Part II

Part two of four!

If you want to get a shout out in the epilogue, leave me a review with your favorite moment from this story! *Wolf pup eyes*

So far the scenes that are making it in are:

*Nix's grad speech

*Nix and Cymi's past flashback stuff

*Bella's first phase

I'm going to write these in a really fun way, with an attempted commentary at what was going through my mind at the time going up on my youtube channel, maybe.

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 64The Final Encounter-Part II (SPOV)

~*~X~*~

I couldn't sleep at all last night- the only thing coursing through my mind was that today was the day that the army was finally going to attack.

Leah and I both ate a rushed breakfast as soon as the sun started peaking above the horizon before we ran into the forest and phased.

The first thing we were hit with was the gentle love radiating from Jake and Bella as they cuddled against each other as they sat in front of their campsite, taking in the beautiful Washington sunrise, the sky being rarely clear and devoid of clouds today. Maybe that's a good omen?

Leah huffed from beside me.

_"What?"_

_"Don't jinx it."_

I huffed beck, snapping my head back forward.

We met the rest of the pack and the Cullens at the meadow. The meadow was filled with millions of tiny wildflowers- some small white flowers with three petals, red star shaped flowers, lavender flowers with a lot of petals, orange tubular flowers, blue flowers with six petals, and five petaled blue-violet flowers. It's ironic really, that such a beautiful place will be the location of a fight a few short hours from now…

The pack fled into the woods on the far side of the meadow- the furthest corner from where Bella and Jake came up from the water and covering up the path that Jake took Bella to their campsite- another layer of safety to prevent the newborn from picking up on her scent.

_"Why can't we be there?"_ Brady whined for the I-don't-knowth time.

_"You and Colin are the youngest members of the pack, so you need to be as far from the action as possible…" _Sam started, before Colin interrupted.

_"But Liza and Drew are with you guys…"_

_"To burn the dead leeches."_

_"But…"_

_"And they didn't abandon their posts to get something to eat!"_ Sam snapped. We could feel Colin and Brady buckle under Sam's harsh tone- they still hadn't worked off their punishment yet; Jared's initial punishment that was meant as a cushion to soften Sam's punishment was about as effective as a piece of glass is effective to stop a baseball thrown at a hundred miles per hour- Sam has them running double patrols four days of the week, a triple patrol one day of the week spanning lunch, and two days of single patrols. But the punishment didn't end there- at least one of all their patrols is the midnight patrol- generally the midnight and early morning patrol, but Sam sometimes has them running midnight and noon, resulting in them missing lunch again.

I was lying in wait closest to the other side of the meadow out of all of us, the rest of the pack in a loosely packed cluster on the opposite side of the meadow, Leah, Embry and Nix being the only exceptions, all three of them being on the same side of the meadow as me, covering up the path Bella and Jake used to leave the clearing.

The Cullens minus Edward were standing stoically in the middle of the meadow, their eyes focused ahead of them, their ears listing for my soft whine that would alert them to the army being close.

I closed my eyes and perked my ears up, opening them to every sound in the meadow… The panting of all of the wolves, the Cullen's false breathing, the soft sway of the flowers in the gentle breeze… I let my hearing wander farther, closer towards the water. I could hear Edward swaying gently in the foliage of the forest, waiting for the army to come. I strained my hearing even further, trying to hear the sound of the waves, but the sound of Edward quickly running through the undergrowth distracted me. Then the sound of a lot of bodies flying through the flora hit my ears- about thirty pairs of footsteps, probably more were flying through the forest.

I let out a gentle whimper, and the Cullens nodded their heads as they lowered their stance a tiny amount, preparing to intercept the initial attack before our appearance.

The rustling got closer and closer, before a girl in a cream beanie, blue sweatshirt and blue jeans broke through the green forest line. She hesitated for a minute, more vampires appearing beside her before they charged.

The Cullens charged forward at the same moment, hitting the attack head-on. The first girl who broke the line got her head smashed to pieces by Emmett's fist as the Cullens charged right through their ranks.

_"NOW!"_ Sam ordered through our heads, and we all charged forward, the leeches that the Cullens passed right by pausing for a moment, just long enough to allow Paul, Sam, Dustin and Quil to tear into four of them. A look of fear and panic crossed all of their faces as they struggled to turn around, just to be tackled by one of us.

I leaped on another female, feeling her back crack a little under my weight. I secured my jaws around her neck and bit down as hard as I could. I could feel my teeth pierce her hard flesh, the flawless skin cracking under the pressure of my jaw, before it gave way, shattering. She let out a scream before her body fell limp. I briefly felt bad for the girl who I had just killed, before Jared snapped in my head.

_"This is no time to be feeling sorry for them Seth! Just ignore it and jump back in!"_

And so I did. I tried to put the scream at the back of my mind, but the scream of mortal… immortal terror kept coming back to the front of my mind.

**_You could let me out- I am made for this type of thing…_**

_But we can't attack the Cullens- they're helping us…_

**_How about you tell me if I'm attacking one of the good leeches, and I'll try to block out the screams for you?_**

_Are you going to be okay with me in the back of your head?_

**_Who do you take me for? Paul's wolf? Now HE'S annoying…_**

_Wai… How do you know…_

**_Just don't think about it too much- there are some things that only I can know out of the two of us, and that's the way it should stay._**

_Fine, just… Don't do anything stupid…_

**_Sheesh. The others are already letting their wolves out. Just let me take over already!_**

_Fine._

I felt a tingling in the back of my head, and suddenly I was on the inside of my body peering out, just along for the ride.

I watched through as my wolf tore a newborn into pieces, her mouth open in a silent scream.

Not needing to pay as much attention to what my own body was doing anymore, I started to watch the Cullens tear vampires apart. Emmett was just smashing things together, anything crossing his path always ending up with a piece missing either from a punch, tackle, or head-but.

Alice was evading every single blow thrown at her, as if she knew what was happening before it was going to happen… No wait- she does! Rosalie was swinging what looked like a crowbar around, smashing anything it came into contact with into smithereens. Jasper was grabbing newborns and tearing their heads off, making it look as easy as tearing paper, and Esme and Carlisle were tag teaming all the vampires that they were taking on…

**_Thanks for telling me which vamps to avoid._**

I forgot- we could still hear each other's thoughts…

**_Yep. If you would let me out more then you would've probably remembered…_**

_Oh just shut up._

I sat back and watched as my wolf tore the vampires to pieces, but one thing was missing from this whole scene- there was no flash of red hair, no familiar faces… no Victoria… Wait. No familiar faces… Charlie!

The thought had just come to me before Bella's howl rang through the meadow- our emergency fail safe!

_"Seth, Embry… GO!" _Nix and Sam yelled at us as our wolves gave us back control of our bodies.

Embry and I both dashed from the tangle of newborns into the woods, taking roughly the same path that Bella and Jake had taken to their campsite on the mountain. Something very wrong must've happened for them to need to use our emergency backup plan, or something happened that Nix and Jasper hadn't counted on…

~*~X~*~

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	66. The Final Encounter Part III

Sorry I didn't update yeaterday- my internet went on the fritz .

This is your LAST OPPORTUNITY to tell me your favorite scenes, and to get a shout-out in the epilogue. After this chapter this offer expires, and so far only one person is going to get a shout-out, and the rest of the scenes will be chosen at my discretion.

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 65 The Final Encounter-Part III (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

We arrived at the campsite as twilight was fading into dawn, sunrise just a short ways away.

I climbed off Jake's back and walked behind one of the trees to phase.

_"So beautiful…" _Jake thought as I walked out from behind the tree, fairly certain that there would've been a blush on my cheeks, but quickly noticing that Jake was staring in the direction of the rising sun, the golden beams cutting through the skies, a gradient of purples and violets radiating from the gold disc just barely peeking over the horizon.

I padded next to Jake, sitting down next to him, rubbing my head against his shoulder.

_"I, I think that I'll take that offer now…"_

_"Wh-what?" _Jake stuttered, looking at me with a panic-stricken face. He looked so adorable, his expression so similar to that of an abandoned puppy that's been following you around the streets.

_"Girlfriend, remember?" _I lifted my paw, the charm still dangling from the chain.

_"Really Bells?"_

_"Really Jake." _He hesitantly moved his tail closer to mine, me leaning back into his shoulder. I felt his tail gently nudge against mine, before awkwardly curling his tail around mine, as he leaned his head so that it was resting on top of mine.

_"Love you Bells…"_

_"Love you too Jake." _I echoed, joining his gaze as the sun rose from the horizon, knowing that the newborn army was going to be in the clearing soon.

We sat on the snowy ground, our bodies pressed against each other, tails twined together, love radiating off of us as we watched the sun rise. We looked like two wolven lovers, and I guess in a way we were.

One by one the rest of the pack joined the pack mind, some of them taking note of our positions, or of Jake's very loud broadcast that I'm his girlfriend now, not that I didn't mind, but it probably wasn't helping those who weren't imprinted, and couldn't really start a relationship without that constant worry; Jake and I were taking a huge risk with this step from friends to boyfriend/ girlfriend, and I really can't think of what would happen if one of us imprinted now, but we can't worry about that now.

Speaking of not worrying, even though Carlisle finished the DNA tests a few days ago, Danny and Embry both want to hold off on learning the results until after the fight, since they both still wanted me to open the envelopes.

Edward had just left the clearing to lead Victoria away from the clearing when everyone was in position for the ambush, the Cullens standing in the middle of the meadow, waiting for the newborn army.

Paul and Quil were starting to get restless, when Seth heard a rustling in the bushes about a mile from the clearing- at least thirty, if not more, pairs of footsteps.

The newborns came out of the woods at that moment, and after the Cullen's initial charge, the pack jumped out of the protective cover of the trees, sans Drew and Liza.

Seth killed the first newborn that emerged, but he was kinda traumatized by the whole thing so he let his inner wolf take over.

Jake and I watched through our pack mate's eyes as the Cullens and our fellow wolves tore newborns to pieces, or in Rose's case- smashed them to smithereens.

The battle seemed to be going in our favor, until the sickly sweet scent of vampire drifted to our noses.

Jake got up quickly, pulling his tail from mine, pushing my head from his shoulder and knocking me of balance as he stood up as fast as he could, a low growl building in the back of his throat.

_"Be ready for the back-up plan Bella." _Jake hissed, his voice carrying anger that I knew wasn't directed at me, but at the vampires that had obviously strayed from the main fight.

But that's why Jake's still with me, and why we have the fail safe… what if the vampire's Charlie! What would we do then?

_"Don't worry Bella- we'll just go on a wild goose chase until we can get back to the Cullens…" _Jake was interrupted by the rustling of clothes on branches, the light dusting of snow falling to the ground.

I held my breath as the vampire's face was revealed- blonde hair! It wasn't Charlie!

He smirked "You're dead."

_"Why…" _Jacob started, before our more vampires rushed out from the woods to our right _"Crap! They were downwind! Now Bella, give the signal now!"_

I leaned my head back, and let out a howl- our fail safe, a call for reinforcements- Embry, Seth, Edward and if the battle in the clearing was going well, Alice, Emmett and/or Leah.

Jake and I took off to our right, curving away from both the single vampire who obviously wasn't a newborn, and the newborns pursuing us with bloody abandon. I retracted my shield, put up to keep our thoughts from distracting the others, Liza and Drew being the only ones we could hear, getting a live feed of the battle from their places at the edge of the forest.

There was still a cacophony of thoughts- mostly inner wolves that had been released.

_"Seth and Embry left a few seconds ago."_ Liza informed us, ignoring our current situation like Sam had ordered her and Drew- to never interfere with one of the fights unless it is absolutely necessary. They were following their order very well.

_"Hey!" _Colin and Brady complained in unison.

I ignored them as I tuned everyone but Liza, Drew, Seth, Embry and Jake out- filtering their thoughts from those of the rest of the pack.

_"Holy cow!" _Seth exclaimed, finally able to focus on our situation.

_"We'll be there in a few minutes, do you two think you could manage to circle back around to your campsite?"_

_"We'll try." _Jake promised, veering a little further to the left, me accommodating him by also shifting my path to angle further to the left. Unfortunately for us, looping around means virtually running around an entire mountain.

As Jake and I started to loop around, we could hear the newborns gaining on us. They were almost right on our heels when we emerged back in our campsite, a flash of sandy brown and gray and black came across our peripheral vision, and Jake and I snapped around to find Seth and Embry on top of two newborns, the other two still charging for us, the other vampire nowhere to be seen.

Jake and I intercepted one of the two, while the other abruptly changed its course, it's head being ripped off in a flash as Edward appeared in the middle of the fight.

Edward lit a lavender pyre, the barely recognizable remains of the four vampires laying haphazardly as the flames licked at the disembodied limbs.

_"Where's the fifth one?" _Seth asked.

Where was the fifth one? I'm fairly sure that there were five when we started running away from them…

"There was a fifth?" Edward questioned, me lifting my barrier slightly to let him in on the conversation.

_"Yeah…" _Jake flashed an image of the first vampire.

"He doesn't seem like a newborn… He must've gone for more help. We need to find him before he gets too far away."

In a silent agreement, Seth, Embry and Edward slowly started searching the area around the campsite, gradually branching out.

Jake whined as I made to go into the forest to help.

_"Jake, we're going to find him faster if we join too, and besides, we're all linked remember?"_

_"But what if…"_

_"I know how to fight Jake." _I shoved images of our week-old training with the Cullens into his head.

_"But they weren't trying to kill you Bells…"_

_"Just let me go Jake, please?" _I gave him the best puppy dog eyes I could muster without absolutely cracking up at the sight of my appearance through his eyes. I could feel his resolve start to weaken.

Time for step two.

While maintaining my expression as best I could I padded next to him and rubbed my head against his neck.

Jake's mind was complete mush.

_"I-I guess it couldn't hurt…"_

Seth and Embry were snickering in the background. Jerks.

_"Thanks Jakey…" _Jake mentally groaned as I padded into the forest.

I sniffed around a few trees, the light dusting of snow having turned into a thick pillow as we were running from the newborns, the snow falling harder still. The sky is a menacing gray, all evidence of the bright sky from a few hours ago gone, covered by the thick snow filled clouds.

Embry and Seth were starting to wind their way around the mountain, while Jacob had also joined in the search, starting to search in the area to my left while Edward was on my right.

I heard a small thump to my right and snapped my head toward the sound, to see that a tree had dropped its load of snow. I padded over to it, finding footprints trailing from under the mound of snow deeper into the forest.

A hiker shouldn't be out here while all this supernatural stuff is going on.

I started following the footprints, the scent dampened down to that of a pleasant sweetened rose scent.

The footprints disappeared at the base of a medium sized evergreen with a rather large amount of snow piled on top of the dark green needles.

Something seemed awfully wrong about the whole situation as I slowly shifted my gaze up the tree.

My eyes locked onto fiery orange hair attached to a smirking face suspended in the tree.

_"Victoria!"_ I screamed in into the mind link.

"Now Riley!" She screeched, her voice too smooth- to even to be anywhere remotely near natural.

The tree started to shake. I raised my head in a howl, only escaping my mouth briefly before being cut off by a cascade of snow and ice.

~*~X~*~

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	67. The Final Encounter Part IV

The almost last part of the Final Encounter!

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 66 The Final Encounter-Part IV (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

I was knocked to the ground, the air driven from my lungs as the snow landed on top of me _"Jake!"_ I cried out through the mental link, a slight whimper escaping my mouth as I tried to push the snow off me.

_"Bells? Where are you?"_

_"I-I don't know Jake…"_ My thought was interrupted by the sounds of splintering wood and the sound of stone hitting stone.

Please tell me that Edward's here…

I felt a wave of hurt coming from Jake, but it just flowed right over my head as my eyelids started to get heavy, the cold surrounding me starting to feel comfortable. The coolness seeping through my fur and into my relatively warm body. It took too much effort to keep my eyes open.

_"Stay awake Bella! Keep your eyes open!" _Jake was screaming at me, only giving me a horrible headache.

_"We're coming Bella!" _Seth screamed through the link, Embry adding his agreement.

_"So cold… Jake… Warmth…"_ A small smile spread across my canine lips before my eyes slipped closed and the world faded to darkness.

~*~(EdwardPOV)~*~

I was just about to loop back around to the right and meet up with the gray-black wolf that I assume is Embry from their thought patterns, when I hears a soft animalistic whine followed by a the large thump of a tree's load of snow contacting the ground.

The direction of the wind shifted slightly, bringing with it the muddled scent of wolf, the sweet scent of vampire and a few newly stirred up ice shards… Wait. Wolf and vampire!

I started running towards the sound, hearing a heartbeat that sounded like it was dampened by a pillow, gradually slowing down, the constant thumping getting weaker with each passing second.

Realizing that one of the wolves was facing off against a vampire that was more than likely using the heavy snow in the trees to their advantage, I started to rush towards the sound.

As I ran closer, I started to distinguish the different scents- a wolf whose scent was so muddled by fallen snow that I couldn't identify who it was, and two distinct vampire scents. Neither of them newborn.

Bursting through some snowy branches, the sleeves on my shirt tearing a little bit, I came upon a scene that both surprised and shocked me. Victoria and another vampire were piling branches on top of a mound of snow, from which both the wolf scen and the ever fading heartbeat were coming from.

Victoria snapped her head around, and sent me a wicked smile "You're too late."

She produced a lighter from one of the pockets in her designer summer coat.

"One wrong move and this little wolf is going to learn just what it's like to be killed like a vampire…"

"Victoria…" The other vampire trembled.

_"Ready Cullen?"_ Jake said- hiding just out of Victoria's line of vision.

"Not now Riley."

"It's me you want Victoria, not that wolf." I knew this to be untrue- The wolf under the mound of snow was Bella, and she was dangerously close to contracting hypothermia, or at least phasing back into her human form and exposing her scent to Victoria.

"V-Victoria…"

"Riley!"

"Victoria!"

"What do you want Riley!" Victoria snapped as she turned around, seeing Jacob standing at his full height, the air leaving his nose in huge puffs.

_"Now!"_

I rushed forward and shoved Victoria. She grabbed onto Riley and they both went flying, resulting in their lips locking against a tree.

"Get off me Riley!" Victoria screeched, throwing him to the side as she lit the lighter and made to throw it before Jacob tackled her from the side. Her grip on the lighter loosened just enough so that it dropped to the ground as she flew away.

Riley was just getting up, before charging at Jake, quickly shifting his trajectory when he caught the glint of the red lighter.

_"What can we do?"_ A more childish voice than the others asked, as Embry and Seth emerged from the woods to my sides.

"Dig Bella out." I motioned to the pile of snow and wood.

They both nodded before charging at the pile.

Victoria's head snapped up as soon as I mentioned Bella's name. "So I did trap the girl after all." She let out a throaty cackle "I can't believe my luck Riley…"

"Victoria!" Riley screamed, Jake standing over him, snapping at his neck. Riley was fighting Jake off with his left hand, his right forearm ending in a crystalline stump.

"Riley!" I could tell that she was faking her affections for him, and that he was truly in love with her. I could also tell that he was starting to worm his way into her heart, but she denied any true feelings for him, fueled entirely by her need for revenge over James' death.

I took off towards her, crashing into her halfway, sending her into a tree which she gracefully grabbed and started climbing.

_"Hey Jake, want me to take care of him?" _Seth asked/

_"Yeah." _I could tell that Jacob was having a really tough time controlling his inner wolf- it was almost quite literally torn in two, not knowing which was more important: Saving Bella or killing Riley. I just assumed that it was two conflicting instincts- the need to kill vampires and preserve pack mates.

I latched onto the base of the tree Victoria was climbing, and started to push on the trunk with all my strength, the roots straining and the weaker ones starting to crack.

Riley kicked Jacob off of him, and turned to run only to be tackled again by Seth, who had let his inner wolf out, mercilessly tearing Riley apart while Jacob sprinted to the pile of snow and started to help Embry dig, looking like their canine counterparts.

"Victoria!" Riley shouted, raising a stump of an arm from underneath Seth, glimmering pieces of his body flying everywhere.

Victoria paused for a moment in her climb, just long enough for me to push the tree the rest of the way down.

The tree hit the ground with a hard thump. "Victoria, please…" Riley begged, his face completely disfigured by Seth's raging wolf.

Victoria took one glimpse at Riley before making a run for it.

"You won't get another chance like this again." Victoria skidded to a halt. "You want her." I nodded towards the quickly diminishing pile of snow that only had one wolf digging "You want me to feel the pain you felt when I killed James. When I tore him to pieces." She turned towards me "When I turned him into ash." Her unnecessary breathing got deeper, and rage touched her eyes "When I turned him into nothing." She roared before charging at me again, not noticing Jacob sneaking around.

He pounced on her, gripping his teeth around her middle, her marble skin starting to crack under the pressure of his jaw.

Victoria tried hitting Jacob's head, but he shook her like a ragdoll. I rushed in and in a split second had her arms bound behind her, Jacob snarling at her furiously.

"P-please…" she trembled, seeing the rage in Jacob's eyes as he saw Seth and Embry pulling Bella's limp but fury body from the pile of snow.

"Sorry, but this isn't my fight." I whispered into her ear as I kicked her legs out from under her while shoving her to the side. Jacob snarled and leaped at her, his maw connecting with her neck, the force of his jaw snapping her neck as easily as he would a twig.

I turned away from Victoria's remains, plucking the lighter from the snow, towing it on the barely recognizable form of Riley.

What an unfortunate end for the boy in love- to have his soul stolen from him and the only form of happiness he could ever hope to get crush his unbeating heart…

"Good job Seth." I muttered as I dropped the lit lighter on the largest part of the corpse, the fragments immediately bursting into a sweet lavender pyre.

Jacob walked over, laying a few pieces of Victoria's body at my feet, before bringing back her head, her hair gripped tightly between his teeth. Her fiery orange hair hadn't lost its gleam, and her blood red eyes were still clear as crystal- not clouded as all dead things should be. I tossed her arms into the lavender blaze, before Jacob lobbed her head into the flames.

We both watched as her head caught fire, taking silent satisfaction that she was now dead.

~*~(JPOV)~*~

_"Hey Jake, we probably should warm her up…" _Seth said, drawing both Edward's and my attention from watching Victoria burn.

"Do you mind if I check her vitals?" I cocked my head to the right "I have four degrees in medicine and doctoring, so I do know what could be wrong with her." Edward elaborated. He walked up to her as we nodded our heads. "She's on the edge- I don't know how much longer she'd have been able to survive under the snow." He mumbled. I was suddenly grateful for Embry curling up against her, even if I was just slightly jealous.

**_Slightly?_**

_Shut up._

Okay, I was extremely jealous that Embry, and now Seth were curled up next to her.

_"Come on Jake." _Embry beckoned as I shook the thoughts from my head.

_"She needs you too."_ Seth said, as I padded towards her, curling up against her stomach, her fur intertwined with all of our at some point in her body.

The pack's mind link was surprisingly silent, even with Bella's shield up there was usually some chatter that would filter through- even Liza and Drew's comments about their undying love for each other had quieted, even though all of their presences were still there.

_"She'll pull through Jake, she has to." _Leah broke the silence.

I hoped she was right, oh how I hoped that she is right.

~*~X~*~

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	68. Losing Your Only One

This is the Real end of The Final Encounter, but the end is not the end, nor will... I'm going to shut up now before I spoil too much.

Anyway, I've been hit with writers block, so you all still have a LIMITED TIME to get your favorite scene with my own commentary and a shout-out in the epilogue!

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 67 Losing Your Only One (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

I felt warmth surround me.

Was I dead?

I can't see anything, so I can't be alive yet, I still feel really warm.

I couldn't be alive- I was buried alive under snow for god knows how long…

But this is a comfortable warmth, natural…

The snow felt so cold…

God, what about Jake?

He'd be so distraught if I died- we'd just finally gotten together…

Stop it Bella!

You can't leave with any regrets.

Just accept that you're dead.

Dead.

The word sounds so cold…

_"Bells…"_

Jake?

Am I hearing things?

Was that really him?

Was that his voice?

Am I just longing to hear him one last time…?

_"I love you Bells…"_

I love you too Jake…

Much more than you could ever imagine…

If only I hadn't let my fear of him imprinting get in our way…

_"Please come back to me Bells…"_

I-I don't think that I can…

_"I won't be able to live without you…"_

His voice sounds so broken…

I'm coming.

I'm coming Jake!

I'm coming for you!

~*~(JPOV)~*~

I was resting my head on top of hers- Edward had moved her head so that it was resting on my neck.

Everyone was silent as I begged Bella to open her eyes, when her eyelids fluttered.

_"Jake…"_

_"Bells?" _I asked as I nuzzled her head as best I could.

_"So warm…"_

Her eyes slowly opened.

_"Bells!" _I exclaimed licking her face, tears starting to well up at the corners of my eyes.

_"Love you, Jake…" _She mumbled before her eyelids fell again.

I started to panic "Don't worry Jacob- she's just fallen asleep."

_"Thank you… Thank you…"_I mumbled, burying my face in her fur, the tears finally overflowing their banks.

I stayed that way, not noticing the slight chatter starting to pick up among our pack mates, the battle almost over in the clearing.

Bella stirred after a while.

Her eyes fluttered open and held my gaze for a second _"Jake…"_

I almost broke down on the spot, not that there would've been anyone there to see- Seth and Embry had gone back to the clearing to help with clean up, and Edward was doing a quick sweep of the mountain, checking for any more newborns.

_"I-is she…?"_

_"Yes. She's gone."_

_"Who?"_

_"Me and Edward."_

_"Thanks Jake…"_

_"You don't have to thank me Bells…"_

_Why can't you just make her my damn imprint! It's just going to hurt us both if it doesn't happen!_

**_It doesn't work like that…_**

_Then make it!_

**_I…_**

_You know what, just shut up. _

_"Jake?"_

_"Hm?"_ I came back to reality, Bella standing above me nudging my side with her muzzle.

_"Are you okay?"_

_"Yeah… Why are you standing up? You really shouldn't be up and about Bells…"_

_"Just can it Jake. I feel fine. Let's go get some clothes then we can go back to the meadow…"_

How could Bella be so good after all that?

_"Werewolf healing, remember Jake?"_

_"Right…"_

~*~(BPOV)~*~

After about twenty minutes, we were emerging from the trees at the meadows' edge, Edward not far behind.

The once beautiful meadow was now littered with lavender pyres spewing purple smoke. Every single wild flower was trampled into the ground- the meadow now a flat, open clearing.

_"Wow…"_

The leaves rustled to my right as I walked towards the rest of the pack and the Cullens, who were standing in the middle of the clearing.

The wind shifted slightly, bringing the scent of an 'alive' vampire.

I snarled lightly as the newborn jumped out of the foliage.

My growl got choked in my throat as I saw the newborn's face- Charlie.

I whimpered and backed away slowly, and he just snarled at me.

"Bella…!" Alice cried, before a flash of black fur knocked Charlie over, the sickening sound of pottery being torn apart slicing through the air before Sam threw Charlie's head into the nearest blaze.

I started to see red.

_"Bella?" _Seth wondered, him Embry and Leah all taking a few steps toward me.

_"Bells, calm down…" _Jake tried to soothe as he brushed against my shoulder.

I was shaking. And seeing red. And visualizing a very graphic scene of Sam's dead body.

Sam snapped his head toward me before I leaped, barreling straight into his side. The suddenness of my attack startled him, causing him to lose his balance and fall on his flank.

_"Bella!" _Half the pack yelped in surprise, the other half stunned that I had lashed out at Sam.

Honestly, I couldn't care less about what they thought- the only thing I could hear was the blood pumping in my ears, and the only colors I could see were red and black, every other color some gradient in between.

_"Bells, please stop…"_

I guess I can hear one voice clearly, but no matter what Jake says, he can't stop me.

I snarled as Sam struggled to stand up; leaping on top of him, my claws digging into his flesh. The scent of blood started wafting from his fur. Normally the scent would make me faint, but at the moment it just fueled my rage.

_"Bella stop!" _Seth wailed as he knocked me off Sam. I regained my footing and growled at him.

_"**Stop!**" _Sam's alpha order rang with so much power that each and every wolf's head dropped to the ground, everyone weighed down by the power put behind his order. First Liza and Drew, then Colin and Brady, Paul, Quil, Leah, Dustin, Seth, Nix, Jared and even Jacob all had their heads pressed to the trampled ground.

All except Sam and I.

I leaped at Sam again, taking him by surprise once again.

The Cullens and the pack were helpless but to watch- the pack literally unable to do anything, and the Cullens fearing that they would get caught in the crossfire if they interfered.

I pinned Sam to the ground, and he let his body fall limp- submitting before me.

I wouldn't take his submission. No, I had to take more. Perhaps Emily, or maybe…

I was knocked from my thoughts as he shoved me off him, causing me to land on Seth… hard.

_"DON'T YOU DARE THINK ABOUT HURTING EMILY!"_

Seth let out a pitiful yelp from beneath me, and again I didn't care all that much. I rolled off Seth and aimed for Sam again.

Seth backed away from us, Carlisle rushing to help him.

Somehow, and I don't know how, I ended up pinning Sam again, but he was far from submitting to me again. He was flailing under me, and almost escaped my grasp before I snarled, my teeth hovering just above his neck.

"Stop!" Alice wailed, much louder than necessary.

A horrified expression flew across Edward's face before he spoke "All of the wolves need to leave, now."

_"Why should we listen to you leech." _Paul sneered.

"The Volturi are coming, and if they see you they'll annihilate all of you!" Alice wailed again.

Everyone turned to Seth, who was now standing again. _"Uh, four vampires walking at a steady pace?"_

Edward relayed the message to Alice.

She nodded "Get out of here now!"

Hearing the desperation in her voice, the pack all shot off in different directions, Embry, Seth, Jake and I all shooting back toward the campsite, after all we still have to get all of our stuff…

~*~(E(Embry)POV)~*~

I may not know what the Volturi are, but they sure seemed to scare the Cullens. But, there is a bright side to this too- now we don't have to watch idly as Bella and Sam fight anymore, but still…

_"Sorry about that Seth…" _Bella mumbled.

_"S'okay Bella."_ Seth responded _"It's not your fault."_

_"Thanks Seth."_

Something rustled above us.

Jake released a surprised yelp from beside us, and we turned to find another vamp latched onto his flank.

_"H-help…" _He managed to stutter before we heard a sickening crack. Jake yelped in pain as Bella leaped at the leech, knocking it off Jake. She snarled at it as it made a run for it.

_"We'll go for it. Stay with Jake." _I told her as Seth and I tore after the vampire that had just ambushed our best friend.

We didn't even need to release our wolves- we tore off its head and set the remains alight in under thirty seconds.

We looked to the sky as a pitiful howl echoed through the forest.

~*~(JPOV)~*~

I heard a fey rustling leaves, then felt ice-cold arms wrap around my body. Nothing's ice-cold to us, except for vampires! The thing's grip tightened around me, and I could feel my bones straining to remain in one piece.

One second I felt a slight increase in pressure, and the next all I could feel was pain. Burning pain.

I could barely register that Seth and Embry had gone to chase after the leech, when Bella was standing next to me.

"Jake? Are you okay? Where does it hurt?" Bella fired off in rapid succession, not giving me nearly enough time to respond.

"Bells…" I managed to slur through gritted teeth.

"What Jake?"

"Help…" I think I must've blacked out after that, because the last thing I remember was a howl- Bella's howl.

~*~X~*~

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	69. Ancient Threats

Just a few more chapters and we can put the events of Eclipse behind us!

Also, keep in mind that I've only read twilight and the beginning of New Moon, so these scenes are entirely based off the movies.

You still have a chance to have your favorite scene rewritten with a commentary by me, in addition to a shout out in the epilogue. Just leave a review with your favorite scene.

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 68 Ancient Threats (EdwardPOV)

~*~X~*~

"They're coming!"

As soon as the wolves fled, four hooded figured dressed in all black drifted out of the forest. Their movements were perfectly synchronized and so smooth that it appeared that they were floating instead of walking.

They stopped in an impossible straight line, and lifted their hoods off their heads at the same moment. They all appeared to be marionettes from the perfect synchronization they possessed.

"Impressive. I've never seen a coven escape an assault of this magnitude intact." One of the members- a short female with strawberry blonde hair that appeared to be about fifteen.

"We were lucky Jane." Carlisle responded.

"I doubt that." Jane replied, her tone monotonous, only a hint of emotion behind her cold exterior.

"It appears we missed an entertaining fight." A male with straight brown hair, also looking about fifteen stated.

"Yes, it would appear so Alec." a shorter, lithe vampire with curly blonde hair replied. He was about the same height as Jane and Alec, but his face held none of the childhood roundness that the twins possessed.

"If you would have arrived just a half hour ago you would've fulfilled your purpose." I responded.

"Pity." Jane scanned our line, her red eyes landing on the little girl quivering between Carlisle and Esme "You missed one."

The young newborn looked around nervously, her gaze never meeting that of the Volturi members.

"We offered her asylum in exchange for her surrender." Carlisle quickly spurted.

"That wasn't yours to offer." Jane's gaze locked onto the newborn's "Why did you come?"

The girl collapsed to the ground, expelling the most shrill scream that any of us had ever heard.

"Who created you?"

"You don't need to do that- she'll tell you anything you need to know." Esme reasoned in a gentle voice.

"I know."

The screaming stopped "I-I don't know, Riley wouldn't tell us- he said our thoughts weren't safe…"

"Her name was Victoria, perhaps you knew her." I accused.

"Edward." Carlisle interrupted "If the Volturi knew about Edward they would've put a stop to it, isn't that right Jane?"

"Of course." She looked to the last guard that hadn't spoken "Felix."

He started to stalk towards the girl.

"She didn't know what she was doing." Esme cut in as Felix stopped for a second "We'll take responsibility for her."

"Give her a second chance Jane." Carlisle pleaded.

"The Volturi don't give second chances. Take care of her Felix- I'd like to go home."

Felix continued his movement towards the newborn. He pulled her up, her screams filling the air. She knew what her fate was reduced to as much as we did. She was going to die just like everyone else she had known since she had been changed.

Everyone looked away as Felix drew a fist back to strike the newborn.

Her screams were cut off by the sound of shattering pottery.

~*~(AlecPOV)~*~

We emerged in the clearing, just as the Cullen Coven had finished forming a formal line to greet us.

I caught a short movement in the woods behind them- a brown tail.

_Wolf._ I communicated to Jane through our mental link. We'd always been close as twins, even while we were still alive. In our human lives, we could communicate with each other mentally in brief bursts- a single image or brief thought. After we were blessed though, our link became stronger, and we could project what we were seeing for short periods of time, or even longer thoughts. However, our link is in fact effected by distance, though no matter how far apart we are we can always communicate with the other with one word bursts.

_I know._ Jane responded, her eyes scanning the field as we removed our covers in sync.

Seven piles of vampire corpses were lit ablaze in lavender flames.

"Impressive. I've never seen a coven escape an assault of this magnitude intact." Jane spoke first.

"We were lucky Jane." Carlisle responded, sounding as if he were trying to hide something.

"I doubt that." Jane replied.

"It appears we missed an entertaining fight." I stated, true seriousness seeping into my voice for the first time this decade.

"Yes, it would appear so Alec." Demetri responded, looking upon the scene curiously, his nostrils moving subtly, catching some intriguing scent I'm sure.

_Wet dog smell. _Jane hissed at me.

I inhaled some of the air, catching the scent of evergreen, animal blood and that which could only be described as mud infused with foliage.

_Closer._ Jane hissed again.

"If you would have arrived just a half hour ago you would've fulfilled your purpose." The one they call Edward snapped at my little sister.

I took another breath, dissecting the same scents as before, only catching the scent of wet dog hanging over the whole meadow. The scent was so strong in the area that I hadn't noticed the change of the air's base scent.

"Pity." Jane's eyes trailed across their line, landing on a vampire with red eyes, with a scent of newborn "You missed one."

The newborn female looked around nervously, her gaze never meeting that of any of us. She was nervous, and rightfully so. We expel a refined aura of superiority and order, a product of our centuries spent in Volterra.

"We offered her asylum in exchange for her surrender." Carlisle quickly replied.

"That wasn't yours to offer." Jane's gaze locked onto the newborn's "Why did you come?"

I knew that Jane was about to use her gift on the young newborn.

_Pain_

The girl collapsed to the ground, expelling a scream that reached the limits of humanity. I've heard worse.

"Who created you?"

"You don't need to do that- she'll tell you anything you need to know." Esme tried to soothe Jane. Not that it would work, but Jane ceased her grip on the girl's mind.

"I know."

The screaming stopped "I-I don't know, Riley wouldn't tell us- he said our thoughts weren't safe…"

"Her name was Victoria, perhaps you knew her." Edward directed at us. I was appalled that he would even thing that this incident wet unnoticed by the Volturi. The four of us had been in the human dwelling known as Seattle just a few weeks ago, and we had made the decision to leave them be for the time, to allow them time to serve their purpose.

"Edward." Carlisle scolded "If the Volturi knew about Edward they would've put a stop to it, isn't that right Jane?"

"Of course." Her gaze shifted to Felix "Felix."

He started to stalk towards the girl, fully understanding what his purpose was- to eliminate the girl that didn't belong.

"She didn't know what she was doing." Esme cut in, stopping Felix the briefest of seconds "We'll take responsibility for her."

"Give her a second chance Jane." Carlisle pleaded.

"The Volturi don't give second chances." Jane smiled "Take care of her Felix- I'd like to go home."

Felix continued his movement towards the newborn. He griped her arm and pulled her to her feet, her screams filling the air. Her fate was sealed, even she must know that. From the moment she was brought into this world her destiny was written to end like this- as an unwanted vampire, a blemish in our vast republic.

The Cullen Coven all shifted their gazes away from the girl.

I pitied Alice- being forced on a diet of insufficient animal blood and her human emotions ruling her thoughts. Aro desires her and Edward for the Guard, and time and time again they have declined our generous offer.

Felix's fist made contact with the girl's head, which splintered before flying into the nearest flame. Felix tossed the remains of her corpse into that same fire.

"Remember this." Jane spoke up "Marcus will be interested to know that you have allied yourselves with werewolves."

As if on cue, an anguished howl rang through the forest. A smile spread across Jane's face as all four of us looked to the direction it came from. A look of shock and horror spread across each member of the Coven's faces as Jane's smile spread to all of our faces.

We turned abruptly and replaced our covers before waltzing back into the woods.

~*~X~*~

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	70. On the Road to Recovery

Filler chapter.

Need I say more?

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 69 On the Road to Recovery (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

Pain.

All I felt for a long time after I regained consciousness again was pain. My room was laced with all the old scents from my life, Bella's scent, and the sickly sweet scent of vampire, the slight alteration of the scent including the scent of some tea leaf telling me that it was Carlisle.

Itch.

I felt the sudden need to scratch my left side.

I tried to move my right arm, but something was laying on top of it. One sniff told me that it was Bella.

Bella?

Bella's in the same bed as me?

I slowly pushed all of my fantasies to the back of my mind as I tried to move my left arm, which was draped over my chest.

PAIN.

My eyelids shot open as I tried to sit up.

MORE PAIN!

"Ow!"

Bella's head shot up before she just about tackled me back to my bed. I don't know what hurt more- sitting up or getting tackled back down.

"Jake!" Bella squealed as her arms wrapped around my body, or at least I think they did. I could only feel the pressure of her hug on the right side of my body.

"Bells?" I groaned.

"Hm?" she grunted as she cuddled my neck.

"Why can't I feel you on half my body?"

She scooted away from me a little, and my eyes met hers. Her warm brown eyes usually so full of happiness were clouded by tears.

"Bells, please don't tell me that…" I choked off, not even being able to say the words.

"No Jake, it's… it's just that… just look at yourself." Her gaze wandered down to my chest, mine following hers.

To say that what I saw shocked me was an understatement.

I was in a white half body cast.

"C-Carlisle had to rebreak your bones and- and s-said that you'd be out for a few hours…" Bella's voice trailed off into a stream of unrecognizable mumbles nestled in between sobs.

"How… How long have I been out Bella?" I was dreading the answer almost as much as I was dreading the question.

"S-six days Jake… Six days!" Bella was crying against my chest, mumbling something about me falling into a coma and thinking that she had lost me too.

"Bells, please calm down?"

"B-but Jake…"

"Everything's alright now? I'm not dying?"

She gently nodded her head against my body.

"Good, now why am I in my room at home?"

"S-Sam" she hissed "And Carlisle thought that it would be better if you stayed here instead of the lodge. Something about there being less distractions for you… Oh god Jake I was so worried." She dove back into tears "Your healing slowed while you were in a coma and Liza said that she couldn't sense your wolf and we were all worried sick…"

What? While I was out so was my wolf?

_Hey buddy, is this true?_

**_Unfortunately so. I'm linked to you just as you are linked to me, it's just that…I'm more dependent on you than you are on me._**

_So since I was out of it, so were you?_

**_Pretty much._**

"Jake? You're scaring me…"

"Sorry Bells… So what about Charlie?"

Her eyes started to well up with tears again "We had what was left of his body cremated and Billy and I spread his ashes at his favorite fishing spot while Carlisle helped you…"

"It's okay Bells, we don't have to talk about it anymore…" I mumbled, wrapping my good arm around her waist while she cried her heart out.

Quite a while later, I noticed fivecream colored envelopes on my bedside table.

"What are those Bells?"

"Th-the results of the DNA tests…"

"When…?"

"Carlisle dropped them off the last time he came to check on you."

"So why haven't you opened them yet?"

"We were planning on opening them in front of the pack, remember before the whole Victoria fiasco?"

"Right… So when can I take off this cast?"

"Uh… Carlisle said something about maybe tomorrow? Or was it next Friday… I think… I think that it was tomorrow, and you can't phase until next week…"

"But…"

"We need to make sure that you're completely healed Jacob."

"Fine."

~*~(BPOV)~*~

I was running through the forest, Jake hanging onto my neck as we flew through the foliage.

I don't know how he did it, but he conned me into taking him to the cabin. He really shouldn't be back at the cabin until he can phase himself- everyone's mostly messing around in their wolf forms now that school's out for everyone, and that would leave Jake alone in the cabin… Well maybe not. I'd stay with him. I haven't phased that often since Victoria's… and Charlie's deaths…

Jake's hand tightened itself around my neck a little before relaxing again. He always know what I need…

"Stop thinking about it Bells. It's not your fault- it's that read-headed bloodsuckers' fault."

If only Jake were right…

_"How much longer until you two are going to get here? Embry looks like he's having a nervous breakdown here Bella…" _Seth's cheery voice asked as soon as he phased in, shoving an image of a nervous Embry and an apprehensive Nix, Danny and Liza, with Quil and Sam jammed in next to Embry.

_"We'll be there soon Seth." _I responded, the envelopes gripped in Jake's hand flapping a little as I slowed my pace a little.

Seth was waiting for us outside the cabin when we emerged from the woods. He helped Jake inside while I went back into the forest to phase.

Everyone's eyes fell on me when I entered the living room. Anger in a few gazes, but the majority dominated by sadness.

I hadn't patrolled since before the fight, and Sam's alpha orders have been lost on me since the moment he killed Charlie. My respect and loyalty towards him have been steadily decaying at a rapid pace ever since that moment.

I smiled a small, forced grin, the pitiful thing leaving my face as my gaze met Sam's. No matter how much he apologizes, it will never be enough. You only have one father and one mother. No matter how much I wanted to, which I didn't especially, I can't visit my mother because she lives the furthest she could from Forks in the continental United States- Jacksonville Florida. So, the only parent I had was Charlie, and though our relationship was a little rough in the past months, It was still nice knowing that there was someone nearby to talk to without all of this werewolf and vampire shit interfering. Now not only was he torn from me by that _dirty mutt_ but now La Push needs to find a new Chief of Police AND we need to fabricate a cover story as to why he lacks a head. Freaking rainbows and unicorns huh?

"Bells…" My shaking slowed as Jake grasped my arm with his good hand "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea; we should just go back home…"

"No Jake. I can do this. We've put this off long enough." Seth gave me the cream envelopes that he had apparently taken from Jacob at some point.

Each envelope had the name of the entire web of people involves in the series of tests- there were two with _'Nix, Danny, Liza' _printed on the outside in black ink, and three with _'Jacob, Sam, Quil, Embry'_ printed on the outside.

I slowly opened both of the envelopes that had Danny's DNA tests in them. I slid out the sheets of paper, and glanced down at the boxes that showed if the match was positive or negative. One positive, one negative. I slid the results back into the envelope, and opened the ones containing Embrys'. Jake turned away as I browsed the results. Two negative one positive. Again I replaced the results, before handing the ones that were marked positive to Danny and Embry.

Jake hobbled next to Embry, wanting to see the results with his own eyes.

Danny slid the results out of the envelope first.

~*~X~*~

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	71. Revealing the Truth

Now we finally get the results of the DNA tests that I placed very poorly in the story!

YAY!

Now, the story has almost been finished- I just need to write a few more scenes to in one chapter, and need to do the commentary for the recap chapter.

Then I'll do a final thoughts chapter with acknowledgements and shout-outs and stuff.

Granted, all this will come out in next month, while I'm on hiatus while participating in CampNaNo, but that's the glory of writing ahead like I do- you can continue updating even when you haven't actually written anything recently!

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 70 Revealing the Truth (DannyPOV)

~*~X~*~

My hands were shaking as I slid the neatly folded piece of paper from the crème envelope. Nix and Liza leaned closer to me as I unfurled the paper with shaky hands- if they didn't know any better it would've appeared as if I were about to phase.

The bold cross at the top showed that there was enough evidence to make a conclusive match.

The first line after that was blood type. Both samples were O+.

The second line was matching chromosomes. Forty-seven matches.

I skimmed to the bottom of the page, where the names were printed. In addition to my name, my brother's name was printed. The name was Phoenix Lowell.

Tears welled up in the corner of my eyes, and I could smell that they were also welling up in Nix's as well. This shouldn't have come as a surprise to us at all- we looked exactly the same, we went through growth spurts at the exact same time, we shared the same birthday…

A few other comments at the bottom of the paper just confirmed what we thought the whole time. Just two words: _Identical twins_.

I suppose that it's just nice knowing that what we'd assumed for so long is true.

Bella held the other envelope out for me to take.

I checked the lines following the bolded dash at the top.

Blood types O+ and B-, five of forty-seven chromosome matches… The best Liza and I could be would be cousins- there were too many genes that we didn't share for us to be any closer than that…

~*~(AlecPOV)~*~

"Have you found anything sister?"

"No Alec, have you?"

"Not a thing in the last century sister."

After informing Aro, Caius and Marcus of the situation with werewolves allying themselves with the Cullens, they immediately sent us to research and other incidents that may have occurred in the area before.

Jane and I were to look through the past millennia of records in search of any other past filed encounters with the filthy beasts, how they could've evaded our detection for so long.

We had both decided to meet each other in the middle of our records- Jane would start a thousand years in the past and work towards five hundred, while I'd go back through the records from our most recent through five hundred years ago.

So far the only thing of note that I've seen has been the Cullens gaining their four youngest members. The fact that they had settled in that location once before sparked our interest some, but they hadn't reported anything massively unusual.

Either they'd failed to report it at the time, or the werewolves had just recently moved there, which is entirely a possibility. I'm the first to admit that while the Volturi are generally flawless there are some flaws that remain from our times as humans- flaws that we can never outgrow or move beyond.

We were still browsing the records when Heidi came into the library.

"I'm going for a bite to eat, would you two care to join me?"

"Certainly Heidi." Jane responded, pulling herself from the tome she was reading "Alec?"

"No thank you Heidi. I can go out with Chelsea later." The truth is that Heidi just seduces her victems into giving up their blood- their lives, while Chelsea is more compassionate about those she kills. Chelsea detects the bonds between people, and only feasts on those who truly deserve to die, such as those who do not love their children, or the less fortunate who are reduced to begging to make a living.

"Come now Alec, surely you must be thirsty?" Heidi pressed.

"I'll go out with Chelsea later." Why can't they see that the way they go about things is so sloppy? They hide the bodies yes, but there are people that will miss those that have been taken, and will therefore notice our presence if we are not careful enough.

"Suit yourself then Alec."

Jane sent me a hurt glance as she followed Heidi out of the room. We have eternity to spend together sister, a few hours apart will do us good.

I dove straight back into the old parchments, Jane not returning until late.

Around the four-hundred year mark I had started to notice something. Every small nomad clan we had on record that passed through the Olympic area was never heard from again after entering the general vicinity of the areas now known as Forks and La Push Washington.

"Sister, I may have discovered a pattern…"

~*~(EPOV)~*~

Everyone's gazes fell on me as Danny, Nix, Liza and Dustin all left the room, the emotions finally becoming too much for them.

I stared at the envelope in my hands. It contained the answer to the one question that I've wanted answered more than any other in my entire life- who was my father. The answer is so close, it's within my grasp, so why do I fear what is contained in this envelope?

"Come on Em." Quil urged.

It's now or never, and I don't know which is better.

I looked to my three brothers standing around me, one of which _is_ in fact my biological brother.

My small smile was forced as I slid the piece of paper from the envelope.

The bolded plus sign at the top of the paper confirmed that the match was conclusive.

Blood types O- and A+.

Seven chromosome matches out of forty-seven.

The names at the bottom…

Embry Call and Jacob Black.

~*~X~*~

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	72. Watching Another Fall

Stuff~

I am going on a writing hiatus over the month of June~

I will be back~

I really feel like singing a song~

Desu~

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 71 Watching Another Fall (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

It's been a month since Embry found out that he and Jake were brothers, and tension within the pack has never been more strained.

Danny know for sure now that he's going to phase, but Liza said that he should've phased ages ago, and yet still hadn't. We think that it's because of Leah keeping him calm enough to fight off his wolf even though the physical changes had manifested themselves quite a while ago.

After Jake recovered and started phasing again, I pretty much avoided the pack entirely- the last time I had actually directly interacted with anyone other than Jake, Seth or Embry had been at Charlie's funeral…

~*~_FLASHBACK_~*~

Charlie's coffin was closed- the intricate patterns carved on the sun bleached wood gleaming in the artificial light of the funeral home causing the lid to gleam like something good was coming out of Charlie's death.

In reality, nothing good came from it.

The entire pack was there, save Sam, whom I requested to not be in attendance at the memorial, cremation, or when we spread his ashes. It just doesn't seem right that his murderer be at these things. Maybe in an attempt to repair relations between us, Sam agreed. But nothing can bring back what we once had.

He tore from me the one stable rock in my life- the one thing that couldn't be torn away by artificially imposed love, he tore my father from me.

Jake stood next to me as I took everyone's condolences, him being my only rock in this hard time. His arm wrapped around my waist was the only thing preventing me from hunting Sam… or Emily for that matter.

The pack kept their distance until the population gradually left.

They carried the coffin to the artificial crematorium that we had built on the beach, and allowed me to light the blaze.

The scarlet flames that should've been were tainted as the remains Charlie's vampiric body caught fire, the blaze shifting to a more purple hue as lavender mixed with garnet.

The flames danced high into the sky, Jake my pillar of strength as I cried against him. Billy and Sue were also both there, holding onto each other. Embry stood by me, sending fleeting glances at Billy. Occasionally Billy would catch his gaze, and Embry would quickly snap his gaze away.

Old Quil gently gathered the ashes into a small ceramic urn once the fire died down.

Jake, Seth, Embry and I all left for Charlie's favorite fishing hole, leaving the rest of the pack to tear down the artificial crematorium.

The clear waters of the lake were placid, calming even. The lush greens reflected in a slightly distorted manor were a sight to behold, until we disturbed the waters with a single boat.

I gently removed the lid of the urn, and a gentle breeze blew, taking with it some of the blackened ashes of Charlie's remains.

The black flakes landed gently on the surface of the water, leaving tiny waves in their wake.

I looked at Jake, and he nodded.

I slightly tilted the jar, and a small stream of black poured out, the gentle wind scattering the flecks across the once calm waters, now rolling in gentle waves produced by the wind.

The urn was empty. Charlie's gone… forever…

Jake wrapped his arms around me, and I leaned into his comforting warmth, warm tears streaming down my face for what seemed like the millionth time today…

~*~_ENDFLASHBACK_~*~

I've since been spending most of my time with the Cullens, rebuilding the bonds that I hadn't bothered to rebuild since they returned.

Edward's been spending quite a bit of time with Ursula, and the two are very obviously in love. They're rarely anywhere without the other, and she's become a staple in the Cullen household.

"Hey Bella!" Ursula cried as she engulfed me in a hug. I gave her a small smile "Edward and I are going for a hike, and he was wondering if you would want to come along with us?"

I met Edward's gaze from his place next to the door. He was either being courteous towards me needing to get out of the house, or Alice saw some encounter with the pack that I would be needed to diffuse, as they're uneasy about Ursula's relationship with Edward.

"Sure Urs, just let me go get changed real fast…" I disappeared into one of the Cullens' guest rooms, and quickly changed into a sleeveless top and a pair of shorts, making sure that the leather cord was wrapped around my ankle before reappearing.

When I looked around the living room, Edward and Ursula were gone.

"They already left Bella." Alice spoke up "Edward only really wanted you to trail behind them in case something did happen."

I nodded before taking off through the front door, following Ursula's scent into the woods. Athough the Cullen's scents don't bother me as much anymore, they still give me a headache if I focus on aly one scent for an extended period of time, and as such they always ensure that at least two of them are in any room with me at any given time.

The dirt path that Edward was leading Ursula up was weathered and overgrown- the uneven path marred by vegetation creeping in from the sides and growing from the middle. The stale scents of all the other Cullens were also on the path, meaning that this was probably an old patrol trail of theirs, and judging from there being only five different scents- Carlisle's, Esme's, Rosalie's, Emmett's and Edward's, leaving that this was probably from their first stay in Forks.

"Why don't you go on a little ways, and I'll wait here for Bella."

"Okay Edward." The sound of a kiss followed by rustling of vegetation alerted me to Ursula's exit.

I went up the path a little further, meeting Edward in a small area that had been cleared of flora, more than likely so that two people could hold a brief conversation.

"Did Alice tell you about her vision?" I shook my head "Ursula was…"

Edward was cut off by a shrill scream, accompanied by the loud roar of a bear.

We both snapped toward the sound, and I phased out of habit, running stride for stride next to Edward.

The scene that was playing out in front of us was simply appalling.

A huge black bear was towering over Ursula, the scent of blood overpowering. Edward and I growled at the same time. The bear turned its massive head towards us, it's yellow eyes gleaming with the accomplishment of a successful hunt.

Ursula's moan triggered Edward's attack. I stood shell shocked as Edward flung the huge bear off Ursula and into a tree, a sickening crack echoing as the beast's spine was shattered to pieces.

Edward was kneeling over Ursula's barely moving body. "I have to change her."

I stared at him in shock.

"It's either that or let her die."

Which was worse? Being a vampire or death? I don't know… I just don't know!

"Leave Bella." Edward interrupted my inner monologue "You need to get back to your pack, and please, keep this between us. We'll leave as soon as her change is complete." With that Edward quickly scooped up Ursula's unmoving body and took off in the direction of the Cullen house.

~*~X~*~

Reviews make me so happy, almost more so than candy...


	73. Severing Relations

Hey guys, and here I am for your daily update!

Stuff is happening, finally!

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 72 Severing Relations (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

I ran back to our side of the border as fast as I could, not caring about the branches whipping across my face.

This was Jake's turn to patrol the border, with Seth covering the other side of the rez.

_"Jake, Jake, Jake…" _I chanted in my head as I followed his scent, catching up with him at the bush that Paul uprooted last year.

_"What's wrong Bells?"_

_"Ursula was attacked by a bear and now Edward's going to change her!"_

A howl sounded, followed by others phasing into the pack mind in rapid succession.

_"Who was phased with you Jake?" _ I shakily questioned.

_"Sam was Bells…"_

_"Everyone to the lumberyard, **NOW.**" _Sam's alpha order rang through the collective mind.

_"Sam?"_

_"What's wrong?"_

_"Why'd you howl?"_

_"Is it a leech?"_

_"Leech? Woo!"_

_"God Sam, I just fell asleep…"_

The pack mind was a cacophony of chaos as every single wolf phased, running for the lumberyard.

Jake and I arrived first, the rest of the pack soon filtering into the clearing.

My accidental confession flew through the pack mind like wildfire.

_"Is it true Bella?"_

_"It's against the treaty!"_

_"They can't do that!"_

_"It's one of ours!"_

_"It's dangerous!"_

_"We can't allow it."_

_"We can't!"_

_"We have to protect the tribe." _Sam snarled _"What they've done goes against everything that we've forged with them, it goes against each and every one of the precedents that we had set when they signed the treaty. She won't be able to control her thirst- every human will be in danger."_

_"We're ready!"_

_"No time to waste!"_

_"We have real enemies to fight tonight."_

_"Tonight?" _I stammered.

_"We must stop them before they do the deed."_

_"But that means Ursula will…"_

_"One life is nothing compared to the good of all. You **will** fight with us Bella. You **will** help us destroy the Cullen Coven."_

_"NO! I won't fight them! You can't make me!"_

_"**Yes I can.**" _Sam approached me, his sheer power and authority radiating off him in waves. The feeling was so strong that the entire pack was falling to their knees- only Jake and I tried to resist.

_"NO. I won't be part of anything where the leader tries to tear everything away from me!" _I shouted as I broke free from Sam's alpha order and shot into the woods behind him.

_"Bella…" _Jake mumbled as I disappeared into the underbrush.

~*~(JPOV)~*~

_"Bella…"_ I mumbled as she disappeared into the forest.

_"We're going to stop her." _Sam ordered as he took off into the woods, the rest of the pack taking a step towards the spot where Bella disappeared.

_"NO!"_ I cried, and everyone froze where they were as I took off after Sam.

I caught up to Sam in time to see him pounce on Bella, knocking her off her paws.

_"Bells!" _I cried out as I barreled into Sam.

_"Jacob, **stand down.**"_

I could feel the alpha order start to weigh me down, Sam's snarls forcing my head closer and closer to the ground. I could feel something welling up inside me- something that I'd been pushing away ever since I phased.

**_Embrace it Jake! _**

_But I don't want to be alpha!_

**_You've put it off long enough- you need to claim your rightful place as pack alpha now!_**

_But…_

**_You can't keep putting this off Jake! It's your destiny to lead the pack! You need to make your great grandfather proud of his own flesh and blood… you are the rightful alpha Jake- you're a Black, you're the heir to the chief! You're the alpha!_**

_"**I will not.**" _I snapped to my full height, a good few inches taller than Sam _"**I am the grandson of Ephraim Black. I am the grandson of a chief! I wasn't born to follow you or anyone else!**" _I slammed into Sam, knocking him back.

Sam snapped back to attention, snarling at me, preparing to pounce when a flash of gray and a streak of golden brown slammed into his side, knocking him off balance.

_"Go Jake, now!" _Seth urgently growled as he dodged Sam's claws _"Embry and I are going to be there soon, Run!"_

I hesitated, looking at my brother and best friends fighting my former alpha.

_"What are you waiting for? Go! Run Jake, run! "_ Seth snapped.

_"Get out of here Jake!"_ Embry wailed as he evaded Sam's jaws.

I tore my eyes away from the fight and tore off towards the Cullens, Bella having left as soon as I knocked Sam off of her.

_ "Bells!"_

_"Jake? What're you doing!"_

_"I guess I finally stepped up to my destiny…"_

**_Finally!_**

_"But Jake, you never wanted to be alpha…"_

_"I guess it was time I manned up and accepted my rightful place."_

_"So then why aren't you with the rest of the pack?"_

_"Sam never stepped down, so I guess when I finally accepted my rightful place I broke away from the pack, just like you did."_

_"Jake…"_

_"We'll have time to talk later Bella- just get to the Cullen's as fast as you can."_

_"I love you Jake."_

_"I love you too Bells."_

~*~X~*~

Reviews make me so happy, almost more so than candy...


	74. Unexpected Twists in Fate

2 more hours until Camp NaNo!

I'm so excited, you have no idea...

Sorry for the late update by the way...

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 73 Unexpected Twists in Fate (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

I phased back and pulled my shorts on just as the Cullen mansion came into view.

I snapped around when I heard the rustling of foliage, preparing to attack, when Seth and Embry.

"Don't worry, they're not following us." Seth explained as I scanned the woods behind them. I paused to take in their appearances- Seth had a scar on his right arm that was fading, and Embry had three big gashes across his chest that had stopped bleeding.

"How are you two doing?"

"Fine, you?"

"I… I don't know…" I turned back towards the mansion, Bella's figure entering through the back door to the house. "What are you two doing here?"

"We left Sam's pack."

"Why."

"We won't stand behind him Jake." Seth stated.

"He's tearing away everything that Bella holds dear, before you know it you would've been run to Canada or someplace like that."

"Go away you two."

"Is that an order?" Seth questioned "You going to make us bow down too?"

"I'm not ordering anyone… Look, I'm just going off on my own…"

"Doesn't look like it to me." Embry mumbled.

"We've got your back Jake."

"No you don't!" I took a deep breath "Look, if Sam comes back again, are you really willing to fight against the others?" I glared at Seth "Against Leah?" I shifted the glare towards Embry "Against Quil?"

"If it's the right thing to do." Seth answered.

"Whatever. I'm going to find Bella, do what you want."

"How cool is this? Three man pack, three against the world."

"You're getting on my nerves Seth."

"I'll shut up, can do."

~*~X~*~

Bella shot out of the house as soon as Seth, Embry and I emerged from the forest.

"Jake…" She mumbled as she buried herself in my chest.

"Bells…"

She lifted her head slightly, and her gaze met mine.

Everything around us faded away- all I could see was Bella's chocolate eyes.

The darkness that surrounded us broke apart, a soft white replacing the blackness.

Anything that I had ever felt for anyone before vanished at that one moment- My dad, the rez, Embry and Seth…

Even being able to transform into a wolf lost its glory when compared with Bella.

I felt like I was floating on a cloud, the only thing keeping me from flying away was Bella, it felt like there were a million cables linking us to each other.

"Jake? Bella?"

The world came flying back to us as Seth's voice tore us from our fantasy.

"Jake, did we just…"

"Yeah, I think we did Bella."

"What?" Seth asked, looking between the two of us.

"I-I think that Bella and I just imprinted on each other."

"But you two have already… How is that possible?"

"I… I don't know…"

_Talk._

**_Wh-what?_**

_How is Bella my imprint? If you chose her then why now? Why couldn't you choose her before now?_

**_I-I told you that it didn't work that way…_**

_Then tell me how it works!_

**_Y-you know that you're the rightful alpha right?_**

_Yes…_

**_And that Sam's wolf isn't happy with it's imprint?_**

_What?_

**_You see, the alpha female is pretty much responsible for the entire upkeep of the pack, so the alpha male imprints on someone who would benefit the pack, you know like someone who can cook and knows some first aid and stuff like that…_**

_So he had to sacrifice himself for the good of the pack?_

**_Yeah- his wolf wanted to imprint on Leah that day, but Emily was the better choice for the pack, so his wolf was forced to imprint on Emily, but when you stepped up as alpha he was going to break the imprint and reimprint on Leah, but since you took so long Leah's wolf decided to imprint on someone who could calm her down and wouldn't freak about her being a wolf, or the high probability that they can't have kids…_**

_And since Danny already knew about the wolves, and always knew how to calm Nix down, not to mention he's the newest blood around…_

**_Yeah, but Sam's imprint will still break- his wolf is chomping at the bit to break it, yet he still doesn't want to let go of the mantle of alpha, even though you've stepped up to your destiny…_**

"Jake?"

"Hm?" I grunted as Bella broke me from my conversation with my inner wolf, who was strangely becoming quite bearable.

"You seemed like you were somewhere else."

"Uh, my wolf was just explaining a few things."

"Like what?"

Uh, uh, uh… "Alpha orders. How to give em."

_How do you give alpha orders?_

**_I'll tell you later._**

"Really? Anything else, Alpha?"

"N-now much…" I stammered as Bella cuddled even further into me.

"So who's beta?" Embry asked, causing Bella and I to turn around.

"Don't tell me it's Bella Jake- that's so unfair." Seth pouted.

"No, Bella's alpha female."

"What!" Bella squealed.

"You're my imprint and soon to be mate, what'd you expect Bella?"

"I d-didn't think…"

"Sh… It'll be okay." I soothed, stroking the back of her head while she had a small break down. I looked at Seth and Embry. They both looked like they were expecting something big from me. I went over in my head the advantages both of them would bring as my beta. I made my decision. I took a deep breath "Em, would you be my Beta?"

Embry started shaking, his wolf bristling with excitement over being asked to fill in the third-highest position in our pack's hierarchy. "J-Jake… Yes, I'd be you beta."

"So I'm omega?" Seth wailed, falling to his knees. His wolf was probably in anguish- he hadn't been omega since he first phased, and he'd been omega because he had phased after Leah, technically making him the newest wolf at the time, even though he and Leah had both phased on the same day.

_What do I do? He's the lowest ranked…_

**_You forgot about your third…_**

"You're far too valuable to be an omega Seth." His head shot up, his brown eyes that were slowly being taken over by the gold eyes of his wolf meeting mine. "You forgot about one more position… Since we're such a small pack, we can't spare a wolf to name omega- you're my third Seth."

Seth's eyes lit up, tears that he was trying so desperately to hold back escaping.

"What'd you do to my little brother Black!" Leah stomped out of the tree line, taking in the scene before her- Seth and Bella having emotional breakdowns, Embry radiating pride, and me, soothing Bella.

"Jake just asked Seth to be his third." Embry explained.

"Then why are you so smug? Don't tell me… is your wolf actually so messed up as to think that being omega is an accomplishment?"

"Em's my beta, Leah."

"So Bella's the omega? I didn't think you had it in you Black!"

A low growl rumbled in the back of my throat. How dare she think so little of an alpha female…

Leah took a step back "Jacob?"

"He imprinted on her Leah." Embry hissed.

"But you two have… How is that possible…?" I opened my mouth to explain, but Leah cut me off "Wait, Quil was thinking about something like an 'alpha imprint' last November- he tried to cover it up, but he let it slip once. I didn't pay any attention to it at the time…"

I didn't hear any more- I couldn't focus. Quil knew that when I stepped up as Alpha that I would imprint, and he kept it from me. He was one of my friends for crying out loud!

**_How dare he not tell you sooner!_**

_Him? Why didn't you tell me sooner! You knew this would happen too!_

**_You think I didn't want to? Trust me, I wanted to! Anything to get you to step up! I couldn't handle following orders from that wannabe alpha!_**

_Sam was not a wannabe alpha! He kept us all in line better than I could've!_

**_You don't know that! You'll never know that because you and these other rebels all broke away from the damn pack! There are five of you here- that's nothing compared to the fifteen there used to be in the pack!_**

_Shut up!_

"Jake…" Bella's soothing voice coaxed as she snuggled even deeper into me, my shaking dying down even quicker than normal, pulling me from the very edge of the cliff, which I'd never been able to recover from anyway.

"Bells…" I replied, burying my nose in her hair, inhaling her soothing scent.

"They really are imprinted aren't they?" Leah asked, although to nobody in particular.

"Why are you…" Embry started, being interrupted by a shrill scream from inside, followed by Alice's appearance outside.

"There are _five_ of you here?" she exclaimed, before shaking her head "That doesn't matter right now… Bella told us that Sam was going to attack? But she ran out again before she could give any details…"

"I know what his plan is." Leah volunteered, which was soon answered by the whole coven, minus Edward, gathering outside in a heartbeat.

"Leah?" I urged.

"Now that he's lost the element of surprise he's going to wait you out."

"Carlisle, some of us haven't eaten for weeks." Emmett whined, causing Bella to lift her head from my chest.

"There's still the bear that attacked Urs, if you hurry you could probably get to it."

"That's a good idea Bella- Emmett, you Rose and Jasper go feed. The rest of us went out yesterday night." Esme ordered, soon followed by the mentioned three taking off at their vampiric speed.

"Do any of you know anything else about our current situation?" Carlisle asked.

"The treaty is void, at least in Sam's mind it is." I volunteered "There are ten wolves left in his pack, four of which are still fairly new- they phased not long before the newborn fight."

"Alice?"

"I-I can't see any of our futures… Just flashes of color- I recognize the color of some of the coats of the wolves, but they're really blurry and smudged…"

"It's okay Alice- we know how hard it is for you to see the future when the pack is near…" Esme consoled.

"No- usually I don't see anything when they're so close, but I'm seeing color… I think that there'll be a fight, but I can't make our definite shapes…"

"Don't worry about it Alice…"

"Oh God."

"What is it?"

"N-nothing." Alice stammered.

What could Alice have seen if our futures are so closely tied in with those of the Cullens?

~*~X~*~

Reviews make me so happy, almost more so than candy...


	75. Shattered Trust

Sorry I missed updating for however many days I have...

*is totally not losing track of time because of Camp NaNo*

Shit's getting real now!

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 74 Shattered Trust (NPOV)

~*~X~*~

"Nix and Jared, go give Sue the unfortunate news that Seth has broken away from the pack. I'll meet you two at Billy's when you're done." Sam told us, both of us nodding once before running to the Clearwater's small abode.

I hesitantly knocked on the door, dreading the fact that I would have to tell Sue, who still hasn't completely healed from Harry's death, that her only son had essentially run away from home.

"Nix? Jared? Seth and Leah aren't here at the moment…"

Jared nodded at me. Sometimes I hate being the one who could word things the softest out of the pack.

"Um, Mrs. Clearwater?"

"You don't need to bother with formalities with me Nix- you know that."

"Sue, we have to tell you something about Seth."

She started paling "He isn't hurt is he? He can't be…"

"No no, it's nothing like that, he… He just might not be coming back for a while."

"What? Why?"

"Well, he broke away from the pack."

"Seth? He couldn't survive as a lone wolf- he needs others to support him…"

"We'll explain everything at Billy's in a little bit Sue." Jared cut in as Sam's howl cut through the air "Could you please meet us there?"

She gave a tense nod before reentering the house, leaving the door ajar. I gently shut the door before jogging with Jared into the woods.

_"Please tell me that Leah is with Sue."_ Sam asked us as soon as we phased in.

_"She wasn't there, why?"_

_"Her thoughts just disappeared, just like Seth's, Embry's, Bella's and Jake's did. She knows what we're going to do."_

_"What does it matter?" _I wondered _"That won't change the fact the Cullens won't be able to survive without blood. So what if they know?"_

_"Good point. How's Sue?"_

_"I figured that we would tell her and Billy everything at the same time, only deal with everything once."_ Jared explained.

_"If Leah left then we probably should tell Danny- he is her imprint…"_

_"Nix, you go tell your brother about Leah, and Jared and I will tell Billy and Sue about Jake, Seth and Leah."_

I nodded slightly, knowing that Sam wouldn't be able to see. I could only hear Quil's thoughts other than Jared and Sam's, I wonder where Paul is? He's supposed to be on patrol with Quil right now…

I shook the thought from my head – something must've come up. The trees flew by as I ran to the house that I once shared with my parents, brothers and cousin. I phased back and walked just beyond the tree line, when a mahogany wolf with russet streaks and coppery brown socks knocked me off my feet, tearing past me and into the woods.

I quickly gathered myself and saw Paul run into the forest as far from me as he could. Walking towards the house, I noticed the remaining shreds of clothing that came from someone phasing with clothes still on.

I wonder who phased like that? Liza or Drew would be the most obvious answer, but Drew took Liza off on a date in Port Angeles today.

A small glint caught my eye. I crouched down, spotting a metal clasp on the end of a leather cord. A short ways away from the cord was a charm- a wooden disc with the pack tattoo carved and stained in the grain.

Crap. Somehow Paul made Danny phase. Why can't Paul just keep his mouth shut?

I phased on the spot, not caring about my now shredded shorts.

_"Danny!"_

_"Nix?" _Quil responded. There wasn't the chaos of a new wolf in the pack mind, there was only Quil and I. No panic. No Paul, and most worryingly, no Danny.

~*~(JaredPOV)~*~

Billy, Sue and Old Quil were all sitting in the Black's living room, Sue's face flushed and eyes full of tears. She had no idea what not only Seth, but both he and Leah did.

"Billy…" Sam started before we heard something resembling Nix's howl echoed through the air, the should be strong tone sounding chocked off and muddled by emotion- a sign that he was just relieving some emotion, possibly something that had been building in him for some time as he still had moments where he remembered some bad memory and felt the need to take his anger out on something or distract himself somehow.

"Do you need to go?" Billy asked. Sam and I just shook our heads.

"Billy," Sam continued "Jake has stepped up as alpha…"

"That's wonderful! Where is he? Shouldn't he be here with you instead of Jared, or is he off doing something and Jared's his third in command, or…"

"Billy." Sam's stern voice caused Billy's mouth to snap shut "Jake is at the Cullen's."

"Why would he be with our natural enemies?" Old Quil asked.

"Because he isn't alpha of this pack." Sam stated.

Shock shot across Old Quil's face "H-how is that possible?"

"Well, tension has been high between Sam and Bella ever since the… _Incident_" I started, the three elders nodding their heads in agreement "And Sam gave an order regarding the Cullens that didn't sit very well with Bella, so she ran off and when Sam tried to stop her, Jake attacked him and took the mantle of alpha, running away with Bella. Then Seth and Embry tag teamed Sam, then Leah just left…"

"H-how can you tell that they left?" Old Quil questioned.

"Their thoughts disappeared. We can't hear them."

"I don't believe that Jake would attack you, Sam, and even though tension has been high between you and Bella, I don't imagine that Bella would just run away lie you're telling me Jared…" Billy mused "What exactly _did_ you order Sam?"

Sam shifted uncomfortable, the elder's gazed shifting to me when it became apparent the Sam wasn't going to answer.

"He ordered us to attack them." I blurted.

"Why?" Old Quil pressed.

"Because they bit Ursula."

Silence overtook the room, the realization of just how real this situation was sinking in.

Five wolves have sided with our enemies, all of which carry the Black family gene, one of which is our rightful alpha.

The silence was ended when Nix burst through the door, triggering Sue's tears as it finally sunk in that her children had sided with the enemy.

Nix looked disheveled, his cutoffs pulled on hastily and his hair a complete mess with a few twigs and leaves caught in the strands. His eyes were wild and filled with worry, fear seeping into them as he noticed the occupants of the room.

"Danny phased" He whispered so softly that Sam and I had to strain to hear him "and he went to the Black pack."

~*~X~*~

Reviews make me so happy, almost more so than candy...


	76. Love's Rendezvous

I am so so so so so sorry that it took this long to update DX

Camp NaNo took up more of my focus than I thought it would, so I didn't finish CotF OR start a new fic like I had wanted.

I stopped uploading in the middle of June, because I read through some of the later chapters, and felt that they were very poorly written, and recently I have gone back and rewritten many of them. I still have yet to completely finish rewriting the ending, but they should be done in the next few days. I'd also like to thank Katerina Polydorou Lautner over on JBNP for reminding me of this story, and caused me to start working on this fic again. Thanks a ton!

An interesting thing happened to me yeasterday- I've been visiting relatives in California, and I swear that I saw both Kiowa Gordon and Taylor Lautner yesterday. Though it is highly unlikely as I was in the wrong part of Cali, but one can dream, can't he?

Disclaimer: I own only my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 75 Love's Rendezvous (DannyPOV)

~*~X~*~

My grip on the table tightened as pain shot through my body. I gritted my teeth as the immense stinging racked my body, my body shaking like all the pack before they phased when they were still new to the process.

The pain isn't new- it started around graduation, first just minor soreness that I passed off as growing pains from my massive gain in muscle, but they've been getting worse and worse since then. Eventually they got so bad that they had the Cullen doctor take a look at me. Despite the extensive examination, which included a trip to the hospital for some x-rays and a cat scan, he couldn't find anything wrong with me. The only thing we could say my pain was caused by was the long gap between when I started showing the signs of phasing and now, where my body is physically ready yet I still haven't phased. Old Quil thinks it has something to do with my body trying to rouse my wolf, and Liza does think that that's the case- my wolf's presence has remained more or less the same since senior year started.

I relaxed a little as the pain subsided, my muscles still tensed.

"Hey lover boy!" Paul shouted from outside. He's the only one who calls me that, and it really annoys Leah.

The tone his voice took indicated that he was stuck telling me something that happened because Nix was busy. Why he was always the one who got to tell me I have no idea- he always gets under my skin.

I walked outside, and saw Paul waiting for me halfway to the forest's edge.

"What happened Paul?" I asked, trying not to sound annoyed. Pain started to build in my left hand again. I clenched my hand tightly shut, my knuckles turning white.

Paul glanced at my clenched hand for a second before looking back to my face "There's been a split in the pack."

"I need to know this now why?" the pain crept its way up my arm, the subtle tingling also starting to manifest itself in my right leg.

"Leah left."

Pain shot through my entire body, my head ringing as I fell to the ground grasping my head, trying to steady myself.

"She ran away to the Cullens, to get away from you. She never wanted anything to do with you- you are just a bandage to her, nothing but something to fill the hole Sam tore in her."

I started shaking, and something started pulsating at the back of my head, it felt like something straining against a barrier, fighting to escape.

Paul walked over to me and grabbed the collar of my shirt, lifting my trembling form off the ground "She never wanted you- she despises you." His fingers slid under the chain of the necklace Nix bought me at the festival last year, the silver loops pulled taut. He threw me back, his fingers never sliding from beneath the chain. I watched as tiny fragments of silver flew through the air, the small copper charm falling to the ground, the tiger's eye dragging the charm down, the charm barely hanging off a piece of the now ruined chain.

The nagging at the back of my head got stronger, and the world started to spin around me. I finally stopped trying to resist the force that was trying to escape it's cage. Raw power surged through me as I felt my body explode, shreds of my clothes flying everywhere.

I growled at Paul, and he took a step back.

**_Find her._ **A voice nagged in the back of my head.

I lunged at Paul, causing him to stumble a little. However I wasn't aiming for Paul- I was lunging for the copper charm hanging off the remnants of the silver chain. The two ends of the silver chain were caught in my mouth as I charged into the forest, relying solely on instinct.

I knocked Nix over in my hasty get away, our eyes meeting for a split second before I tore off in an unknown direction.

Tears started to gather in my eyes the longer I ran. Nix wasn't trying to calm me down- no one was. I couldn't hear anyone like they all claimed they could.

I leaped a river and scrambled up a slightly rocky slope, running off some instinct that this was the right way.

A rustle to my left didn't phase me, or at least not until someone or thing tackled me, causing the remains of the necklace to slip from my maw. I whimpered as what I deducted to be a person squeezed me- it felt as if all my ribs were about to break, when a second person walked more calmly out of the underbrush. That one person turned out to be two- a male and a female.

"Emmett, that's enough."

The grip on my body lightened just enough for me to slip out and continue my run, foregoing the necklace for my life.

A mansion came into view, it's majestic windows and wooden siding almost blending into the surrounding forest. Something was pulling me towards that house, but I don't know what.

I half ran, half fell down the incline separating me and the house, and when the trees cleared out to form a small area around the mansion, my nose was assaulted with the most beautiful smell I'd ever scented.

Eight pairs of eyes focused on me, the body language of all showing that they weren't afraid to attack me, until I met the gaze of one of the three females- Leah.

Everything melted away from around me- all I could see, hear and smell was her. Nothing else mattered in that one moment, or at least until I was snapped back to reality by the three from before emerging from behind me.

I fell to the ground and covered my eyes with my paws, my entire body trembling, scared of the attack that I knew was coming.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt fingers run themselves through my fur.

"It's okay Danny, they won't hurt you." Leah's angelic voice soothed. My fear slowly started to melt away, and I moved one paw to see Leah sitting next to me, my head resting as close to her lap as it could get, her hands twined in the fur on my head. I slightly lifted my head up off the ground, and Leah slid underneath my head before I rested my head in her lap.

The female from before approached us, and my paws immediately shot back to my eyes, I just wanted to hide from the world right then "You dropped this." She sweetly stated. I moved one paw a fraction to see she was holding out my necklace.

Tears gathered in my eyes as Leah took it from the other woman, then resumed her soothing strokes "It's okay Danny, no one's going to hurt you… You're safe…"

My eyes slowly started to drift shut. I looked up at Leah to see a smile on her face.

_"Leah…"_ I thought before I succumbed to sleep.

~*~(EmmettPOV)~*~

Jasper, Rose and I had just finished draining the bear when we heard something rustling in the woods not that far from us. Judging by the sound, it was getting closer and closer by the second.

"What do you think that is?" I asked. Rose and Jasper looked to each other, before something crashed through the foliage behind me. What we saw shocked us- a mahogany wolf with russet brown streaks running haphazardly through the woods. He was stumbling through the bushes, and just barely avoiding the trees. "They wouldn't be attacking now, would they?" I didn't wait for an answer before charging the wolf.

"Emmett, wait!" Jasper called, but I ignored him.

I tackled the wolf, wrapping my arms around his thick torso. He released a pitiful whine as I squeezed his body harder. He didn't smell like the other wolves- he still smelled kinda human instead of like pure wet dog.

He started to struggle, and his eyes widened when Jasper and Rose walked out of the brush.

"Emmett, that's enough." Jasper stated, a wave of shock sweeping over me. My grip on the wolf loosened slightly, and he wiggled out of my grasp and shot into the woods, a slight limp marring his gait.

"But he's heading towards home!" I whined.

"Emmett. He was radiating fear even before you tackled him." Rosalie stated, looking to the ground.

I looked to Jasper, who only nodded "He was panicking, feeling rejection, desperation, determination and what I can only assume to be instinct."

Rose bent down and plucked something from the soil- a wolf charm attached to a broken silver charm with some turquoise. "He must've dropped it when you hit him." She sent a pointed glare at me.

"I suppose sorry won't cut it?"

"Nope." She snapped, popping the 'p'.

We ran back to the house, to see the wolf from before staring at the female wolf that told us Sam's plan of attack. He took one glance at us before he collapsed to the ground, paws shooting up to cover his eyes. His body was trembling like a leaf about to fall in autumn.

Guilt immediately washed over me- he probably came to join this pack, just to be greeted by me attacking him. Jasper sent me a sorrowful glance before Rose walked towards the wolf, who now had his head in the female's lap, his body having stopped shaking and his paws resting away from his head.

When Rosalie passed into his field of vision, his paws shot straight back to his eyes, only moving a fraction when Rose offered the necklace.

The wolf fell asleep a little while later, and judging by the expression on its face, it was Jasper's work.

"Good idea Jasper." Bella congratulated, before turning to me "Now would you mind telling us why he was that scared of you three in the first place?"

Something just tells me that this is going to be a painful night…

~*~X~*~

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	77. A Game of Waiting

I'm still not all that happy about this chapter, but I don't think that I'll be able to rewrite it fast enough for my liking...

I'm so sorry for missing yesterday, but I'll update again later today to make up for it.

I'd also like to thank Katerina Polydorou Lautnerover at JBNP again for giving me that small push to get back into this story again. Thanks a ton!

A friend from school also recently died, and I didn't learn of it until today, so yeah. I'm dealing, but it's going to be tough this year.

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 76 A Game of Waiting (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

"She should have woken up by now Carlisle!" Edward snapped "Why don't we just face the facts and admit to ourselves that she's dead?!"

"Listen to her heart Edward- it's still beating."

"But for how long? You had trouble putting the last IV in, and she's been like this for a month. How much longer can her heart keep beating before it finally gives out?"

"I don't know Edward- her body's comatose because it's fighting the venom, resisting the change."

"Then stop it Carlisle! Give her an immuno suppressant!"

"I don't have any strong enough here Edward- the last three doses I tried giving her didn't have an effect."

It's been like this for the past two weeks- the same conversation with one party yelling at the other, only the amount of time changing.

Ursula's body apparently hosted an above average immune system, reslulting her body deciding to fight Edward's venom. However, because of that the change is coming much slower than it should, and her body was thrown into a coma. Her skin's slowly been hardening and paling, her dark skin now a faded brown color.

The snap of a twig caused me to snap around, seeing Esme with six sandwiches in her hands. Seth and Danny rushed to get theirs first, Leah, Bella and Embry following. It's amazing how much we've grown to know the Cullens as family over the past month- Esme really is the caring mother Bella told us she was, Emmett's the annoying big brother who can't grow up, Alice is the sister that you just can't help but like… A few weeks ago Leah wouldn't even accept anything from Esme, though I think that Esme's repairs to Danny's necklace melted her heart more than anything.

Danny was able to phase back about ten days ago, and now always wears a long black cord around his neck, which has the wolf charm and the turquoise from before, with some obsidian as well. The cord is so long that he doesn't have to worry about breaking it when he phases. His wolf is a sight- a copper charm nestled in mahogany fur spread across his entire body. We also had Carlisle do a DNA test to see if he could determine which one of our genes he has. He has the same gene as Embry and I- the Black gene. I wonder where one of my ancestors left, or when their father had left? Not that it really matters much…

Bella curled into my side as we ate, lounging on an exposed rock near the river flowing by the Cullen house. Seth was wrestling with Danny, both of them looking like little kids as Danny discovered his new strength. They'd been going at each other for about the past two weeks, Danny testing his strength and both of them acting like pups. Danny still doesn't like Emmett though- whenever Emmett walks in a room, Danny walks out. They're like two similar poles on magnets- where one is the other isn't.

"You can't ignore that her heartbeat is getting weaker!" Edward's voice echoed through the air outside the mansion.

"I'm not ignoring it Edward. We've tried everything we could, but dripping nutrients through her IV isn't working anymore."

Maybe she's just looking for someone to sink her teeth into…

"Jacob just had an idea." Edward mumbled.

My pack and Esme turned their heads towards me.

"It wasn't an idea- it was a snide comment."

"What were you thinking?" Esme pressed.

"I was thinking that maybe she wants to sink her teeth into someone."

Leah's jaw dropped, and Embry looked at me wide-eyed.

"We need to hunt." Esme plainly stated "None of us have fed for weeks, and we're running low on food. We need to go tonight." She met my gaze and nodded behind me. The rustling of leaves gave away the wolf that was leaving, probably to report to Sam.

"Let's go inside."

Everyone was sitting or standing in the living room- we had even corralled both Emmett and Danny in the room, though Danny was hiding behind Leah.

"What would happen if we left tonight Jacob?" Carlisle asked.

"Sam would probably…" I trailed off as I noticed Ursula's heartbeat getting slower and slower, coming to a halt altogether.

Silence draped over the entire room for what seemed like eternity, before Carlisle finally stood up to check on Ursula.

We waited. The clinking of metal equipment was the only sound, other than the wind blowing through the trees and leaves outside.

"We can't hold out for much longer." Alice broke the silence "I've been seeing clearer pictures of the wolves, and if we wait much longer we'll be too weak to help us in a fight."

"That's what Sam wants." Leah stated "He knows that eventually you'll run out of food, and we'll be of almost no use in a fight."

"We need to end this tonight."

I looked out the window, seeing a streak of brown fur running away in the distance. "Sam won't attack us now unless he can ensure that he can win. With all thirteen of us here, he wouldn't attack- there are only ten wolves in his pack. I think we should spread ourselves thin and regroup later in an ambush."

"But wouldn't that be dangerous?"

"Not if we all remain close to each other." Jasper cut in "If Esme, Emmett, Carlisle and two wolves make a run for Forks, then circle back around, that'll leave eight of us here. Then a few wolves could make like they're going on a patrol, then with some choice acting, we can make it seem as if Ursula actually did die, now that her heart has stopped. Then after Sam attacks, everyone can loop back around and assist those of us who remain."

"But how can we get out?" Esme questioned.

"Tonight's Liza and Drew's watch." Seth cut in "If Danny went with you guys, then that might shake up Liza enough to hold Drew back."

"Leah should go with Danny too- she's the fastest runner." Embry suggested.

"Em, you and Seth can go on patrol- just loop around that old oak tree and come back."

"How good is Edward at acting?" Bella asked from her place on my thigh.

"He received a minor in theatre arts about three decades ago." Rosalie stated, Edward still looking very grim.

"We need to wrap it up, soon." Seth told us, all of us looking out the window.

Tonight's the night- the night this stupid stalemate is finally going to end.

~*~X~*~

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	78. Exploding Tension

I'm starting to get the hang of this uploading thing again.

The shit's hitting the fan in this chapter, and when all is said and done, all will NOT be peaceful.

Now as for this story's progress, I'm currently rewriting chapter 89, and hating every minute of it; mainly due to the fact that I have to study Breaking Dawn...

Oh well- I'll suffer for you guys.

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 77 Exploding Tension (DannyPOV)

~*~X~*~

_"Go!"_

Leah took off into the forest, Carlisle, Esme and Emmett following with me bringing up the rear.

The scrabbling of paws immediately alerted us as to Liza and Drew's presence, catching up fast. I dared a glance, to see two wolves chasing after us, the only main difference between the two besides their pelt color being the single black sock on either of their forelegs.

The smaller of the two wolves pushed out a burst of speed, and leapt on me.

_"Make sure she sees the necklace and your eyes!"_ Leah yelled at me, causing me to cringe from her harshness. _"Sorry."_

I scrambled out from under her as fast as I could, and turned to glare at her, a growl building in my throat. Her eyes widened before I took off after the Cullens, meeting Emmett halfway as he had turned to give the appearance of an accidental ambush.

~*~(LizaPOV)~*~

Those green eyes… That necklace… Danny!?

_"Drew, stop!" _

He slowed slightly _"Why? They're with the leeches." _He sneered.

_"Because one of them's my cousin!"_ I replied, chasing after my imprint whom was virtually nipping on Danny's heels.

The big leech in front of Danny stopped, his fist swinging around and meeting Drew right in his jaw.

_"Why are there five moons?" _Drew wondered in his dazed state, while I pushed myself as hard as I could to catch up. I slid to stop at the side of a cliff, the Cullens and the two wolves on the other side of the ravine. _"Honey, where are you?" _Drew questioned, running into my back, sending me over the lip and into the dark waters below.

_"Damn it Drew, snap out of it and howl already!"_

_"Yes ma' am." _I received an image of him saluting before his howl bellowed through the night.

I crawled out of the water, cursing Drew's inability to snap out of a daze every paw step of the way.

~*~(EdwardPOV)~*~

A few minutes after the wolf's howl, Seth and Embry left on their false patrol, leaving Bella and I to our act.

I jogged outside at a normal pace, my head hung low and my limbs loose.

I sunk to the ground wrapping my arms around my knees, rocking back and forth on the ground while fake tears streamed down my cheeks. Bella came out of the house soon after, her eyes red and darkness circling her eyes. Rosalie and Alice are like those make-up artists who work on those really big budget films.

_"Must tell Sam."_ A wolf thought, before he focused on running back to his alpha's abode.

Me smirk caused Bella's smile as we reentered the house.

~*~(NPOV)~*~

"I don't care what he's doing- he's still my son!" Billy yelled at us as Sam, Jared and I strode out of his house, him wheeling himself out as fast as he could, Sue following.

"We just thought you should know" Sam started, glancing at Jared and I "Ursula's dead."

Billy and Sue inhaled suddenly, before a fire ignited in Billy's eyes.

"I already lost my wife, daughters and best friend. Samuel Uley if Jacob is harmed in any way so help me…" Sue's hand covered Billy's mouth as she looked at us.

"Just make sure Leah, Seth and Jacob are safe."

I nodded, Sam and Jared's expressions hardening.

"We'll do our best." Sam replied, turning away from the elders. "Let's go!" he called as he started off at a jog into the forest, the rest of us following him we all followed him, phasing one by one not caring about our shorts.

Billy had fought his way out of Sue's grasp and was yelling at us, but there was only one thought bouncing around the pack mind, reinforced by each of our wolves.

_"Kill the Cullens."_

~*~(AlicePOV)~*~

Everyone left in the house was watching over Ursula. If the venom had worked, then she should've woken up by now. Carlisle said that it's probably just a side effect of her stronger than average immune system, keeping her comatose until her immune system's completely suppressed.

I can't even see the future to tell if he's right.

Edward's eyes widened, Bella and Jacob nodding.

"Alice! Jasper!" Edward shouted as he trotted outside.

Jasper and I joined him as ten lithe shapes stalked out of the trees.

The wolves were growling, their sharp teeth snapping menacingly as they spread out in a semicircle around us.

I sent one last meaningful glace at Jasper. He returned it, assurance flowing through me.

A flash of dark silver few through my mind, as I pirouetted to avoid the dark silver wolf's attack with the grace of a seasoned ballerina.

This is the beginning of the end.

~*~(JPOV)~*~

As soon as we heard the first wolf charge, we flew out the door, phasing in mid air.

I landed on top of Quil while Bella landed next to Alice.

_"Stand down Jacob. Our fight isn't with you."_

I shook my head as Sam's thoughts penetrated my head.

_"No. We're a family- we fight for each other."_

_"Some family you have. What's a family if you can't stand to even be in the same room as them for more than five minutes?"_

_"We can look past our differences, and move beyond them Sam- that's what a real family is."_ I felt Bella's mind shield barricade me from Sam _"Thanks Bells."_

_"No problem."_ She responded as she cut off Nix's attack with a head-butt to his flank.

_"Seth, Embry… We could use your help now…"_

~*~(SethPOV)~*~

_"Sure thing Jake."_ I replied as Embry and I shot out from around the corner of the terrace connected to Carlisle's office.

I leaped on top of Colin while Embry bit at Liza's legs.

It was getting hard to tell who was good and who was bad in the mass of bodies fighting in the small space in front of the Cullen's house.

~*~(ThirdPOV)~*~

The area was a flurry of fur, the different pelts blending together so thoroughly that each wolf flowed into the next uninterrupted, smoothly and perfectly.

Alice leaped out of the mass of fur and bodies, only to be caught between Paul's raging teeth.

She released a scream, when five more bodies flew out of the woods, one of them tackling Paul, sending him flying into a nearby tree.

Meanwhile…

~*~(RosaliePOV)~*~

I could hear the snapping of the wolves' jaws outside as I watched Ursula's face carefully.

Her once tanned skin was now faded, now a pale brown. Her black hair was richer, her lips fuller- her face flawless. A prime example of our unparalleled beauty, yet a result of our deadliness.

Another reminder of the cost of perfection, beauty and flawlessness

An eyelid fluttered.

I gasped and held my breath, searching her face for any other signs of movement.

Her nostrils flares, her eyebrows scrunched. All so subtle that I couldn't be sure that I had actually seen the muscles spaz.

Her eyelids lifted to reveal blood red eyes.

"Rose? Where am I? Why do I feel so different? Am I dead? Oh my god, what about Edward…"

"It's alright honey, I'll explain everything…"

~*~(JPOV)~*~

We were starting to get tired.

The Cullens were already dragging, and are now almost worthless on their own, and only Danny had any semblance of enthusiasm left.

We're tired and they're well rested. It's as simple as that.

I yelped as a set of claws raked across my flank, feeling my blood soak my fur.

_"Jake!" _Bella wailed, trying to get to me, Sam shoving her off course and into Seth, who was defending against Quil.

A door slammed against a wall, a glass vase shattered, the door was forced open, and Ursula walked out of the house followed by Rosalie trying to drag her back into the house.

Ursula looked around the clearing, among the masses of bodies that had all paused to glance up at her. Paul was the first to recover, and leapt at Edward. Ursula's eyes widened "Stop!" She wailed "Please stop…"

It almost felt like a sticky goop wrapped itself around my head, and I couldn't think about the fight anymore- my mind couldn't focus whenever I tried to think about the fight. Paul and Sam growled, trying to resist the unnatural force, as the rest of their pack's stances relaxed.

_"This must be her gift."_ Bella thought, and I could believe her.

Liza and Drew were the first wolves to retreat, followed by Colin and Brady. Dustin and Quil were the next two to leave, followed by a reluctant Paul.

Nix sent a longing gaze at Danny, before Sam walked behind him and nudged him toward us. They met each other's gazes for a secone, Sam giving a confirming nod.

Edward chuckled a little bit as Nix's eyes widened, before Sam and Jared ran off, leaving Nix in the clearing with the rest of us.

The goop started to fade while Ursula was having a small breakdown, Emmett's body tensed, ready to leap back into the fight as Nix walked towards me.

_"Jacob, what's he…" _Danny started, before Nix kneeled in front of me, his head tilted to the side leaving his neck exposed.

_What do I do?_

**_Just do what comes naturally._**

I bent over, and sniffed his neck. He smelled like I remembered, only he had a touch of Sam mixed in with his usual scent. I closed my eyes and did just as my wolf told me to do- I gently bit his shoulder, and as I pulled away, a new voice flooded into our minds- Nix's voice.

~*~X~*~

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	79. The Calm After the Storm

Next Chapter~

Stuff still has yet to happen- it's not all rainbows and unicorns... yet.

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 78 The Calm after the Storm (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

"Jacob!"

The last time I heard that much emotion in Billy's voice was when Sarah died, six years ago.

Jake walked over to where Billy's wheelchair was positioned next to Sue, who was sitting on the couch. He knelt in front of his father and met him in a hug.

"Seth, Leah." I mumbled, knowing that they'd hear.

Seth came in first, followed by Leah, who both ran to their mother and surrounded her in a warm embrace.

Tears built in the corners of my eyes- I had nobody to go back to, Charlie was dead and Renee was on the complete other side of the country.

"Bells?" Jake's voice asked.

I looked up to see all five other people in the room looking at me with sorrow in their eyes, Jacob moving closer.

"We're all your family." He whispered as he wrapped his arms around my shaking body. My arms wove their way around his warm body, pulling him close as tears streamed down my face, landing on Jake's shoulder before streaming down his body.

Two other warm bodies joined Jakes. I knew that they belonged to Leah and Seth- they had to.

That night was a somber one at the Black's, wounds from battles far in the past still open and very much raw.

~*~(EmbryPOV)~*~

"Embry, we are going to tell your mom about us." Jake told me after I had escaped from my house after I was grounded for disappearing over the past month.

"Our secret's too important Jake, I don't want to…"

"We **will** tell your mom everything when we finish up our pack business with Sam, Em. Do I have to make that an order?"

"No alpha…" I sighed, knowing that I really had no chance of fighting an alpha order, no matter if it came from my best friend.

~*~(JOPV)~*~

All seven members of my pack were waiting outside the cabin, Bella curled into my right side with Embry to her right and Seth to my left, Nix, Leah and Danny standing behind the four of us as we waited for the Uley pack to exit the cabin.

Sam was the first to emerge, followed by Jared and Dustin, then the rest of his pack.

I tensed up at the presence of another pack- a reaction that my wolf dictated in response to being in the presence of a threat of my leadership. In response, the rest of my pack tensed, ready to spring into action should they need to be called on.

"Jacob." Sam greeted, nodding at the four of us standing in front.

"Sam." I responded, glancing at Jared and Dustin.

The rest of the meeting was spent discussing the elder's worries about there being two packs, and working out boundaries.

~*~(EmbryPOV)~*~

I was just about shaking like a leaf where I stood, in front of the door to my house, my mother cooking something in the kitchen, Jacob and Bella behind me, the rest of the pack lying in the forest.

"I-I don't think I can do this Jake…" I stuttered.

"Don't worry Em, we'll be here for you." Jake reassured as Bella knocked on the door.

"What are you doing!" I hissed, as my mother set a spoon on a plate, moving to wipe her hands with a towel before moving towards the door.

"Making sure you actually talk to your mom _tonight._" She responded.

The door opened, revealing my mother "Embry!? What are you doing out of your room? No, what are you doing out of the house?! Get back into your room this instant."

"Yes mother." I mumbled, walking past her and into our house, which smelled of chicken and cheese. My stomach rumbled just thinking about it.

"I'm sorry Jacob, Bella, but Embry's grounded. Please don't visit for the next few weeks." She stated before slamming the door, the wood catching on someone's foot.

"Tiffany, Embry has something to show you." Jake's voice carried through the small crack "**Embry, in your backyard, now.**"

The alpha order shook through me, my wolf fighting against me- I just wanted to keep at least part of my life out of the supernatural! My wolf won the war, and I trudged toward the back door.

"Embry Joseph Call, get in your room right now." Mom yelled. I winced at the harshness in her voice, but opened the back door.

"He can't Tiffany." Jake stated.

"And why not?" she snapped.

"Because Jake ordered me." I mumbled softly, hoping that mom didn't hear. No such luck.

"What's Jacob holding over you honey? Is it blackmail? Jacob Ephraim Black if you're blackmailing my son so help me…"

"**Just shut up and watch Embry!**" Jake's alpha voice shook my mother as he and Bella walked through my house, guiding my mother into the backyard, where I stood with my shoulders slumped, knowing what was going to happen next. "Now Em."

Knowing that he would make it an order, I gave up the only semblance of control I still had over my own life- sacrificing my mother's ignorance. My wolf overtook me, the gray-black fur of my wolf engulfing my body like a second skin.

Mom gasped as I shifted my wolfy gaze toward her.

"Wh-where's E-Embry?" She stuttered, looking at my huge wolf.

"Look at his eyes Tiffany." Bella said from her position holding my mother's arm, preventing her from running away.

She shifted her gaze to my face, glancing at my eyes for a brief second.

"I-It has Embry's eyes!" she exclaimed "What did that thing do to my Embry!?"

"That wolf, it is Embry." Bella whispered in her ear.

"I-impossible! My baby is not a giant dog!"

I took a few steps forward.

"No… no no no no NO!" she wailed as I padded closer "Don't come any closer to me you monster!"

I cringed at her hurtful words, but kept on moving closer, until I was looking into her eyes, eye to eye.

She quieted down, and I felt tears start to well in my eyes.

"Embry…" she breathed.

I nodded and rested my massive head on her shoulder, leaning slightly into her head.

She nestled her hands in my fur and leaned into my touch. I could vaguely hear Bella and Jake finishing whatever mom was making in the kitchen. I didn't really care what we were going to eat anymore- my mom accepts me for what I am, or at least she knows what I am. If she can live with it or not is another matter entirely.

~*~(AlecPOV)~*~

I stood from the remains of a cow, lacking quite a bit of blood.

_Home._ Jane ordered me through our mind link.

No one knew what I was doing, no one knew that I was sampling the Cullen's diet. How can they sustain themselves off only that? Surely they must supplement their diet with _some_ human blood… Though, I can find the taste somewhat pleasing. Maybe I'll try another animal's blood later, maybe a bear's…

I walked past the receptionist's desk to find Bianca absent. Another life lost to the Volturi, how sorrowful- I actually enjoyed Bianca's company.

Entering through the grand marble doors I was greeted by Jane, an expression of concern spread across her face- an emotion that she rarely shows nowadays.

"Where were you brother? You were not in the library like you usually are…" Jane wondered lacing her arm around mine.

"I was out on a curiosity search dear sister." And in a way, I was.

"Ah, now that we're all here, why don't we see what awaits us in the mail?" Aro stated, the clicking of Bianca's heels echoing through the cold stone hallways.

She held the tray in front of her, presenting it to Aro.

"It's a letter from Carlisle, spelled with an 'S' sweet Bianca."

Bianca trembled as Felix and Demetri appeared by her sides.

"It appears that they've added a new member to their coven."

"Isn't that wonderful." Marcus motioned for the letter as Felix and Demetri grabbed one of Bianca's arms, a sinister smile crossing Jane's face as she followed the screaming human as she was dragged out of the chamber.

"First the spelling, then the grammar." Aro commented on the last few letters he had received from Carlisle- he has a… refined literary palette "Go join your sister, Alec." Aro requested.

"But our quarrel with the Cullens does not end there." Caius stated as I moved through the doors, following Bianca's screams of mortal terror.

"They have allied themselves with werewolves and have therefore made an enemy of the Volturi." Marcus said.

"But I thought you understood my brother, our quarrel goes much further beyond that- they have something I want."

I shivered as I jogged to catch up with the other members of the guard. Bianca sent me a desperate glance, and I averted my eyes. In her short time here replacing our past secretary of three years, I had grown quite fond of Bianca, and she of me. I would generally spend my free time idly chatting with her about how modern day mortals lived.

Granted her life was anything but glorious, but she enjoyed her life very much.

Jane glanced at me "Would you like the first taste Alec?"

Bianca's eyes widened even further as I glanced at her. "Jane I…"

"We know- you enjoy her company. We'll make this quick." Jane stated before moving towards Bianca.

I closed my eyes and let my gift flow from me- the invisible fog surrounding Bianca's body, clouding her brain, numbing her awareness, eliminating her tactile senses. Her eyes shut as I put her to a sleep that she would never wake from.

~*~X~*~

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	80. Decay of Power

Sorry 'bout yesterday, I was preoccupied all day.

Now this I admit is not the best it could be, but I don't have the time to rewrite it when I'm scrambling trying to arrange a fictional wedding, of which I have only been to one (real wedding).

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 79 Decay of Power (VariousPOV)

~*~X~*~

~*~(LizaPOV)~*~

~3 days after encounter with the Cullens~

I haven't felt right since Nix left, Sam's pack just doesn't feel right anymore.

Actually, if I'm truthfully admitting anything, nobody's wolves have felt right- at peace, since Jacob and Bella left.

First it was just a little discomfort that we all easily ignored, but as time drug on we started to be affected. It was effecting our daily routine- all of us were gravitating towards the Cullen mansion during patrols, and many of us would spend time at the gorge in our free time, unable to get closer to the Cullens unless we were supposed to be on watch, as dictated by Sam.

I can't stand it anymore- my wolf hates taking orders from Sam.

I'm leaving tonight. I don't care if Drew comes or not- I can't stand to be around Sam anymore. I know that I'm not the only wolf who's thinking about breaking away, but I do know that I'll be the first to leave after Nix proved it possible when he left after our fight with the newborns, showing us that we hadn't missed our chance by not following Jacob immediately after he broke away- that we still could.

~*~(QuilPOV)~*~

~7 days after encounter with the Cullens~

My wolf can't stand Sam anymore- he's about to go on a rampage if I don't get away.

Liza and Drew left us in the middle of the night four days ago- we woke up expecting them to be on patrol like they were supposed to, but we were met with dead silence.

A note left in one of the hollows that they stored their clothes explained it all- they left.

In the days that followed, Sam gave us an alpha order to not think about the other pack or any of its members, which was reinforced by Jared's beta order of the same caliber.

I think I can speak for all of us when I say our wolves didn't take that very well.

I asked my grandpa about the pull I felt towards Jacob, and he said that I was probably feeling a pull towards the rightful alpha- that since Jacob had claimed his destiny that my wolf couldn't stand Sam being my alpha.

That was last night. I'm leaving now.

~*~(JaredPOV)~*~

~17 days after encounter with the Cullens~

Dustin and I have been talking about the pull we felt to Jacob ever since Colin and Brady broke away seven days ago. The pull was beginning to become unbearable, that much was obvious by the remains of the pack- Sam, Paul, Dustin and I.

We've decided that we're going to leave as soon as we switch patrols- Dustin and I were going to make a break for it as soon as our patrol started.

Though Paul tries to deny it, we know that he feels the pull too, and the dull pain that's starting to build as a result.

Before we were all focused on our collective anger at the Cullens, and that's what held us together; but now that the anger is gone, there was nothing holding us together- only a few orders from Sam that were so weak that I had to reinforce them.

The pitiful part is: that he knew full well that his orders couldn't keep the pack together, and he hoped that with my support that his orders would be able to hold up to the pack.

But, we can see how well that worked, if anything I think that it accelerated the pack's decay.

Dustin and I have only held out for as long as we have out of a sense of our friendship with Sam, and as his beta and third we felt that we should stand by Sam no matter what his decision was.

Sam's hold on even just us three is shaky at best, his constant orders having as many holes as Swiss cheese and being as thin as tissue paper… Sam is falling out of his position as alpha, and Dustin and I aren't sticking around to see him when he completely falls from the sky.

~*~(PaulPOV)~*~

~19 days after encounter with the Cullens~

I can't hide it any more- I'm being pulled toward Jacob, and the fact that Jared and Dustin left two days ago is starting to make me realize that everything they told me about Sam is true.

He was sitting on his high horse for so long that he doesn't know what to do now that everyone's left.

He's been falling down at a steady pace ever since Ursula stopped our fight at the Cullens- he's been losing confidence and power, his alpha timbre and presence almost all but gone.

Sorry Sam, but I can't stay any longer.

~*~(SamPOV)~*~

~26 days after encounter with the Cullens~

Everyone left.

I'm alone.

What did I do to deserve this?

The only person that's left is Emily, and even she's starting to move away from me- she's leaves the house at about eleven each morning, and comes back at seven smelling of all my former packmates, Jacob's scent dominating each of their individual scents.

**_You're the alpha! You can stand alone, by yourself! You don't need anyone- you can do better all by yourself!_**

Nix's valedictorian speech replayed through the back of my mind, a direct counter to my wolf's claim.

_"We may all be lone wolves, but we can't survive like that- we need a pack, a group to support us and keep us strong, to bring us up when we're feeling down, to help us through those tough times that we all want to forget about. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses, and when we're alone can we effectively work past them?" "Which one is more desirable- being a lone wolf or belonging to a pack?" "Don't end up the lone wolf wandering aimlessly because you lost everything precious, be the wolf that's part of a pack, ready and willing to protect and defend everything precious to you and your pack mates."_

I… I can't…

~*~(JPOV)~*~

~31 days after encounter with the Uley Pack~

I was standing with Bella at my side, Nix to her right and Embry to my left, watching the pack practice against each other.

Pride welled up in me that each and every one of them chose to leave Sam's pack and join my own.

Bella looked up at me, her golden fur ruffled slightly, her eyes expressing the endless love she held for me. She moved her head to rub against mine in a display of affection used quite a bit among the imprinted wolf couples.

When Colin and Brady joined us, it became apparent that although they were level headed and could handle some situations, that Embry and Seth were not cut out to be my beta and third. As that became more and more obvious to me, it also became more apparent that Nix belonged in a part of the hierarchy. When Seth would freeze up in a situation, Nix would jump in and save his hide, Embry putting up a stoic exterior, but really panicking just as much as Seth on the inside. This resulted in the rearrangement of the hierarchy. Nix was now my beta and Embry my third. When Jared and Dustin joined, Embry brought up that Jared had been beta longer that any of us had been phased, and deserved to be in the hierarchy, to which I responded that Sam and I both shared different views on how to run the pack- Sam relied entirely too much on alpha orders to control everyone, while I liked everyone to be themselves. When Embry protested, I brought up our blood relation, and Jared agreed with me that Embry should be part of the hierarchy, rejecting my unarticulated question as to if he wanted to be a part of the hierarchy.

I felt someone nudge my shoulder, bringing me out of my reverie. I started at Embry's gray and black face, before he nodded his head towards the woods, where a black wolf was emerging.

_"Sam."_ Echoed through everyone's minds as he slowly walked across the meadow, the pack forming an aisle in front of him, their training forgotten.

Walking down the aisle, Sam appeared as A bride did walking towards the altar, Bella, Embry and I being the preists.

Sam hesitated in front of me, before falling to his knees, his head angled so that his neck was fully exposed- he was submitting to me! He wanted to join my pack!

**_Don't sound so excited- his wolf is probably giving him hell right now._**

_Why?_

**_Since he was never destined to be alpha, his wolf had swelled with pride at being the stand-in, and after being alpha for so long, can't stand the fact that he's submitting to you, effectively taking away his supremacy and temporary satisfaction at being alpha._**

_But Sam always knew that he would…_

**_Yes, and his wolf hated the very idea of losing its high position, hence the falling out Sam had with everyone…_**

Gold was licking at the edges of Sam's eyes, his wolf just under the surface, barely reigned in.

I approached him to accept his submission, but as I was bending down to bite his shoulder, he tackled me.

As I scrambled to get up, I could see his eyes glowing gold, his wolf having completely taken over.

_Wanna take over?_

**_You need to prove your worthiness to his wolf so… no._**

_But you usually chomp at the bit when I offer to let you take over…_

**_Not this time._**

Sam leapt at me, his left paw slightly leading his right. I knew Sam's attack patterns- He would lead with one paw to trick you into rolling into that direction, using the other paw to push off in a different direction once he landed.

I smiled in my head as I rolled to me left, confident that Sam would charge to the right. I didn't pay attention as Sam pushed with his left paw, shooting straight at me. I felt his claws rake my flank as I was pushed back. I could feel Bella's worry transcend through the imprint.

Sam kept up the offensive, forcing me to dodge or attempt to parry his strikes, never leaving quite enough room for a counterstrike.

_Little help?_

**_No._**

Sam feinted right, coming for my right side, his shoulder completely exposed.

I put on a burst of speed, shifting to the left a little, meeting his shoulder with my teeth.

We could feel his wolf's anguish as Sam forced his body to its knees, fighting against his wolf every second of the way.

Sam's mind silently slipped into the pack mind, but we all felt something break inside him, as if a cable was pulled beyond its capacity; we could feel his wolf's anguish, as we watched every devotion and promise he had made with Emily melt away, just as snow melts in the sun.

~*~X~*~

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	81. A Time of Rest

Wow, everything's starting to come together now- there's just one last hurdle then it's a straight shot to the end.

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 80 A Time of Rest (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

"Come on Bella, you look wonderful." Emily coaxed as I spun in front of a full length mirror in her house, the pale yellow dress having sleeves that flared out at my elbows before continuing to my wrists, the actual dress part ending about halfway between my knees and hips, the material hugging my body snugly. To be completely honest, it reminded me of something a waitress would wear.

"I think the hair's too much…" I whined, staring intently at the French braid that circled around the back of my head, a simple braid having been made out of the hair that would normally fall in front of my face, moving the strands to hand to the left of my face in a thin, tightly woven braid. I thought that the whole thing was too much for the Summer Festival, but I knew that I couldn't argue my way out of both the dress and hair, or just the dress, instead opting to try and eliminate the easiest part to sway Emily on.

"I think you're right…" Emily trailed as she started taking apart the French braid that she had worked on for about fifty minutes. "How's that?"

The thin braid was still there, but the rest of my hair fell loosely about my face. Now I really looked like a waitress.

"Perfect."

"How much longer are you two going to be in there?!" Liza whined, Leah having finished with her about an hour earlier.

"We're coming out now!" I replied, not giving Emily the chance to change her mind as I stood up and walked out of the bathroom.

As I walked down the stairs, everyone's eyes fell on me- Leah's, Liza's, Sue's and Kathy's all focused on what I was wearing. The only thing I was missing from the waitress look were the heels, and there was no way was I wearing heels to the festival. That would be a disaster waiting to happen.

Now, this year the festival was delayed a month because of the whole fiasco with the Cullens- the encounter occurred the day after the festival was supposed to happen, so since the pack couldn't help set the boardwalks, it had to be pushed back to late July/ early August. So here we are- on August third, the Summer Festival now turned into a 'going away' celebration, where the largest class of graduates is going off to college and into the world. Well most of them at least.

Since Sam's imprint broke, Quil finally came clean and explained about the alpha imprint and the guarantee that every alpha would imprint on the person who would be best for the pack at the time, the imprint breaking when the wolf is given up, or the mantle is lost. In Sam's case, he lost the mantle, and despite there no longer being an imprint, Sam and Emily are still together, their love now not forced but free flowing.

The whole pack now lives in the cabin, and there is still room for six more wolves in the huge space! Granted those rooms are much smaller, containing only a bed and dresser versus almost everyone else's more well furnished rooms, though their rooms still follow the pattern of being made of solely one wood.

"Y-you look really pretty Bella." Kathy whispered. Kathy lacked self-confidence before Nix imprinted on her- the only reason she could talk to Jake and I when we were on the beach last time was because Angela was there, and she spontaneously reacted to Nix at the party, them having not seen each other since elementary school. Being with the pack really changed her- she's still a little under spoken and timid, but now she has a little bit more confidence.

"Jake'll love it!" Leah squealed as she caught me in a hug, Emily now walking down the stairs.

"He'd better" I grumbled "I spent two hours in there with Emily." Emily was seriously turning into Alice- all fashion and make-up.

"Hey, it wasn't like I was torturing you or anything." Emily responded.

"Yes you were." I growled low enough that Emily couldn't hear. That's another strange thing about imprints- they gain the characteristics of their wolfy other, granted that they aren't already wolves. We had absolutely no proof of that until Nix imprinted on Kathy, and Sam's imprint with Emily broke. Granted they don't gain all the muscle or super sensitive hearing, but their hearing and sense of smell improved by a very small fraction, as did their eyesight.

"Let's get going- you four are working the stall this morning, remember?" Sue reminded Leah, Liza, Kathy and Emily- the elders were having a meeting until about ten, where they would come back and take over their stalls, and thusly so, roughly half the pack had to cover their stalls. The other half were going to be setting up for the second half of the day, which involved various sports and athletics competitions, which the pack were allowed to participate in. We were going to all register for our events at the same time, before the boardwalk opened in about a half hour- at seven thirty.

~*~X~*~

I ran down the boardwalk, rushing to get to the Blacks' stall, where Billy was selling his wood carvings.

Emily ended up having a hair disaster as soon as we walked out the door, her forgetting a pin that caused about three of the braids wrapped around the back of her head to fall out of place, causing Emily to spend fifteen minutes fixing it, leaving us fifteen minutes to register for the events and get to our stalls- Leah called and told the pack not to wait for us.

I slowed to a jog when Jacob's scent got stronger, fresher. As I approached the stall stocked with wood carvings, I could see Seth and Embry joking with Jake.

Embry's eyes widened as I walked up to the lip of the stall, holding a finger to my lips, Embry giving a slight nod, along with Seth, who had also seen me. I leaned over the counter, and blew a gentle breeze across Jacob's neck, causing him to shudder.

"I'm sorry but I'm already…" He started as he turned around, his pupils growing so wide that his dark brown irises were nearly completely gone "B-Bells you-you look beautiful…" he stuttered.

"I'd better- I was tortured by Emily for almost two hours." I grumbled, causing a small amount of laughter to come from Embry and Seth, who were silenced by a venomous glare from me.

~*~X~*~

"You might want to go home and change Bells" Jake suggested "I can't imagine that you're comfortable in that dress, not that it doesn't look god on you…"

"Yeah. I almost feel like a waitress, all I'm missing are the heels…"

"Told ya so." Seth whispered to Embry.

"Shut up." Embry retorted, handing Seth a five-dollar bill.

I ignored them as I pecked Jake on the cheek "See you soon." I mumbled, resting my forehead against his.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Embry and Seth were making gagging sounds in the background, Billy taking in the scene with a smile- everyone was happy and at peace for the first time in months.

I jogged back to Emily's house, running straight to the guest bedroom where Leah, Liza, Kathy and I had all stowed our changes of clothes, each of us knowing that Emily would go overboard with her choice of wardrobe.

I knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Leah called from behind the slab of wood.

"Me." I replied, opening the door to see Leah pulling what used to be a short sleeve shirt over her head, the sleeves now torn off leaving ragged edges where they should've been.

I picked up my comfortable clothes and retreated to the bathroom, changing into a white short sleeve shirt and jean shorts before returning to the bedroom to deposit my dress. When I entered, Leah was gone and Liza and Kathy were just walking through the door.

I waited outside the door while Kathy and Liza changed. "You don't have to wait for us, alpha." Liza called, apparently hearing my heartbeat.

"We're all going together." I replied, loud enough so that both Liza and Kathy could hear.

Liza was out a few minutes after my response, Kathy about ten after Liza.

"Let's go back!" Liza piped.

Leah, Liza, Kathy and I took off at a run towards the beach, where everyone else should have already bought our lunch.

~*~X~*~

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	82. Friendly Competition

I'm sorry I missed updating yesterday, I thought that I had uploaded something...

Anyway, I'm almost done with revamping the finale, and the entire thing should be uploaded by the end of the month.

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 81 Friendly Competition (NPOV)

~*~X~*~

After our massive lunch, the pack broke apart, each of us going to our individual events. I walked with Kathy and Danny to the archery range, where we were going to try our hand at archery.

Danny had gone to get our archery gear, Kathy borrowing hers from the rec center.

"Ready?" Danny started as soon as we got on the range, setting our bags down, competitiveness flashing in our eyes.

"Set…" I continued. Kathy looked between us, wondering what we were going to do.

"Go!" we both shouted at the same time before diving into our bags, pulling our leather gear out as fast as we could.

I slipped my dark brown leather arm brace on my right arm, pulling the buckles tight. Then came my two-fingered leather glove, the fingers covering the index and middle finger of my left hand. Next I pulled out the pieces of my three- piece longbow, snapping the two limbs onto the grip, stringing the string across the two ends of the bow. I threw my quiver over my shoulder, wrapping one strap around my arm, hooking it to a triangular piece of leather over my left pec, grabbing the other strap and hooking it to the only unoccupied point of the leather triangle.

I plucked my bow from on top of my bag, and looked up at Danny, a perfect mirror image of me.

We both turned to Kathy, who was staring dumbfounded at the two of us.

"What?" She asked, glancing between the two of us.

"Who won?" Danny asked.

"Uh…"

"We always race… See who gets ready the fastest…" I trailed.

"You two were… uh, ready at the… same time?" Kathy stuttered.

"What?!" we both exclaimed at the same time, glancing at each other before shifting our gazes back to Kathy, who shifted uncomfortably under our combined gazes.

"Y-you're both r-right handed, right?" she shakily asked.

"Yeah…" I responded.

"Then why are you two wearing your gear exactly mirroring each other?"

"I prefer to use a left-handed person's grip and stances- it's more comfortable for me."

"So, should I use a left-handed grip or…"

"You should use the right-handed grip- I just started opposite and haven't been able to switch."

"Oh…" she mumbled, trying to slip her brace on.

"Here, let me help…" I said, gently removing the hardened leather from her hands, holding the loop of leather as wide as the leather could open as she slid her hand through, the brace reaching from her wrist to her elbow, while mine and Danny's only reached about to our mid forearm from our wrist.

I gently tightened the string, securing the brace to her arm, as she removed her equivalent of the glove- a few strips of leather held together with a few loops, giving the appearance of stripes running the length of her fingers. She slid her hand into the cheaper substitution, as I slid her bow from the bag- a compound bow as opposed to our wooden longbows. I attached the quiver to her body, the set-up virtually the same except for the lack of the small triangular piece of leather- leather strips attached to each other in a confusing system of bieners and adjusting clips that took a while to adjust.

I set the bow in her hand. "So you hold the bow like this…" I stumbled, trying to figure out a comfortable position for my bow in my left hand.

"Like this." Danny interrupted. I shot him a thankful glance as I shifted my bow back to my right hand, my fingers curling around the string covered grip instinctively.

Someone walked towards us with loads of arrows in his hands, placing three bundles in each of our hands. "There's thirty arrows for each of you. Feel free to practice, but you need all thirty to participate in the competition."

We nodded as we unraveled the string binding the bundles of ten arrows together, sliding the arrows into our quivers.

I notched an arrow and pulled the string back a fraction, holding the arrow in place with the index finger on my right hand as I adjusted my left to hold the end of the arrow between my left index and middle fingers, straightening my right index finger as I drew the string back and lifted the bow, taking aim for the old wooden target closest us.

I let the arrow slide through the fingers on my left hand, the feathers brushing against my right as it took to the air.

While we all split up into our individual events, the pack was going to run as a team in the last set of events- the track and field events.

~*~(BPOV)~*~

I watched with Leah as the boats floated in the water, teams of two sitting in each canoe. Jake and Embry were in one boat, Liza and Drew in another, and Paul and Quil in a third.

The waves were deceivingly placid, the calm waters about to be churned by the paddles hitting the water.

Jake waved at me as the countdown began.

I waved back.

He smiled before turning back forward. A gunshot into the air, and each paddle hit the water at the same time.

The three pack boats moved into the lead almost immediately, Liza and Drew being in third, neither gaining or loosing much ground to the other two, while Jake and Embry were in a constant fight with Paul and Quil for first.

"Hey Bella, Lee!" Seth called for us, waving his hands as he approached "Orienteering is starting in ten minutes, and we need to get our stuff."

"Thanks Seth." I responded, ruffling his hair as I took one last glace at the race, Jake and Embry in the lead, before running off to the field where we were going to start the race through the forest.

~*~X~*~

I was running at full speed , weaving through the trees to get to the next clue. Leah was just barely ahead of me, and both Seth and Colin were on my tail.

It felt good to feel the wind in my human hair again- I haven't felt this kind of happy since last year at the Summer Festival, when Jake somehow conned everyone into leaving us alone in our wolf form for the closing ceremonies.

The orange flag came into view. I skid to a halt next to the tree, and tore one of the nineteen remaining bags that contained a clue.

_150 ft NW_

I glanced at my compass before tearing off towards the next clue.

~*~X~*~

A thoroughly soaked Jake was waiting for me at the finish line, along with Leah and the other girls. I crossed the line and handed all my clues and supplies to one of the people administering the event.

I ran at Jake and was swept into his arms, his lips peppering my face with kisses.

"I love you so much Bells…"

"Me too Jake." I muttered as my feet hit the ground again, leaning into his chest "How'd you and Em do?"

"First." He beamed "We pulled ahead of Paul by a few inches at the last second." He was grinning as wide as the Cheshire Cat as he pulled away from me a little bit.

I leaned back into him, basking in his warmth that would never get old.

~*~X~*~

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	83. Darkening Horizons

I am so sorry that I didn't update yesterday! I have almost everything written, but I've been distracted with other things...

Anyways, we finally get to see Just what Alice saw.

Also, I totally don't play favorites. Nope, no way. /Sarcasm

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 82 Darkening Horizons (AlicePOV)

~*~X~*~

Ursula's gift has been getting on all of our nerves.

It's getting been better recently- she can somewhat control her gift now.

That first week after the wolves left were the worst- Ursula absolutely couldn't control it, she literally had the entire family at her beck and call.

One good thing has come from the past month though- Ursula's regained her natural skin tone- that pale brown was hard on the eyes. Carlisle guessed that the cause of her pigment fading wasn't from the effects of our venom, but instead from her lack of nutrition that resulted from her long period spent comatose. The lack of pigmentation resulting from the change hadn't really ever been noticed before by any of us since we were all naturally pale before we were changed, and thusly so there wasn't that much of a change in our skin tones after the change.

Jacob and Bella have been keeping us updated on the pack, and last week, the last member of the Uley pack –Sam- had finally joined Jacob's pack.

For the past week, they've been having a good time with each other, joking around like the teenagers they should be, instead of the grown men and women that they've been forced to become, because of us… We were going to leave soon, so no more wolves will phase, but the symptoms have begun presenting themselves in six more boys, as soon as the packs merged the symptoms made themselves known. We think that something might be coming that might cause the boys to phase, but I haven't seen any visions of anything that could possibly aren't the need for them to phase.

The number of wolves in the pack was stable ever since the newborn fight, fifteen wolves joined us, and during the month we spent holed up in the house during Ursula's coma, the number of wolves remained stable.

"Hi Alice." Ursula said as she walked up to me.

"Hi Urs." I responded.

"So… Whatcha doing?"

"Uh…" I trailed off as my eyesight faded into a vision of Volterra.

_The aged, crème limestone brick walls and red tiled roofs of the time worn city where the Volturi reside, the vision moving to a field outside the city, the sights flying by as if they were recorded by a camera on a track. _

_The movement stopped on a pile of dead animal carcasses, the shin shriveled as the flesh was rotting, being eaten away by flies and millions upon millions of bacteria. There was one thing missing though- there was no blood present on any of the carcasses. _

_A pair of bronze eyes- a combination of red and amber flashed across the scene._

As my room was coming back into focus, Ursula was staring worriedly into my face.

"Alice?"

I opened my mouth to respond when another vision hit me like a freight train, so hard I lost my balance

_The same scene as the beginning of the first vision came back, only this time it focused on the Volturi headquarters, the camera shooting over Aro's shoulder as he raised his arms, the whole of the Volturi standing in front of him, cheering. All except for one vampire, with bronze eyes. _

_The next scene was of the Volturi Guard running through the forest, lead by Jane. _

_Then of the guard attacking our house, then of Ursula being taken away followed by Edward and myself, the house ablaze while Edward and I were both unconscious._

"NO!" I screamed as I came to, my room coming back into focus, my family all looking at me worridly.

"What did you see Alice?" Carlisle asked.

A distant memory flooded back into my mind, from a time not all that long ago.

_"Remember this." Jane spoke up "Marcus will be interested to know that you have allied yourselves with werewolves."_

_As if on cue, an anguished howl rang through the forest. A smile spread across Jane's face Alec, Demetri, Felix and Jane all looked in the direction the howl came from. A look of shock and horror spread across all of our faces as Jane's wicked smile spread across the Volturi's._

Edward's face paled as I glanced at him.

"The Volturi are coming." Everyone looked surprised "For us."

~*~(AlecPOV)~*~

I threw another cow carcass on the pile of rotting meat- a heap of death and decay, each unfortunate animal devoid of its blood.

I raised my arm to wipe my mouth, bright crimson dripping from the corners of my mouth. As I wiped away the blood, Jane called out to me again.

_Meeting._

I slipped my coat from where it hung on a tree branch, before slinging it over my shoulders, pushing my arms through the sleeves as I started back towards Volterra.

I stopped at the side of a marble fountain outside our headquarters, looking at my reflection in the clear water.

My once crimson eyes were now a bronze color, halfway between the gold of the Cullens and the blood red of the majority of the rest of the vampire population.

How can I continue to hide my feeding on animals? I still feed with Chelsea, in addition to my hunting outside the ancient walls in the farmland beyond Volterra, and from what I've been able to read, that's the reason my eyes are the way they are- because of my indecision to choose one diet and stay with it. Some days I go with Chelsea, and others I hunt. I sometimes feed on one or the other for an extended period of time, and other times I alternate pretty frequently.

"Alec, are your eyes starting to change color?" Jane asked me as soon as I walked through the massive wrought iron gates.

I used my gift to disrupt Jane's train of thought. "What did you say sister?"

"I… You're late."

I smirked as soon as she turned around, knowing that at least for a little while I could divert questions about my new eye color.

The question is: How long can I keep the questions away?

~*~X~*~

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	84. Final Cast Call

We're building up to the climax, and my favorite point in this story. In the next chapter, I'll list all of the wolves in the pack as well, since I am getting getting confused about all of them, so I am sure that you all are as well.

I'd also like to thank everyone who has reviewed this story thus far.

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 83 Final Cast Call (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

"Go Jake!" I shouted as Quil handed the baton off to Jake after the first lap. As Jake took off around the first corner, Seth stepped into the hand-off area.

My howling carried to my ears from my phone- my ringtone that Jake recorded for me, the ringtones of every member of the pack were their own howls- something that Kathy had suggested, since none of the guys really liked their ringtones.

I slipped my phone out of my pocket, checking the caller ID to find 'Alice' glaring back at me.

I answered the phone "Alice?"

"Bella, There's something important…"

"How's Ursula? Has her skin color changed any? What about her gift?"

"Bella!"

"One second Alice…" I pulled the phone away from my ear as Jacob rounded the curve, the deep green baton held securely in his hand "GO JACOB!" I screamed.

"Bella!" Alice whined, her voice reaching my ears. I ignored Alice as Jacob held the rod in front of him, Seth starting a light jog with his arm extended back, receiving the dark green aluminum rod in a reverse grip before accelerating out of the hand- off zone.

"RUN SETH!" Leah and I shouted as Embry tackled Jake as they switched placed, playfully hitting each other.

"Bella!"

"What Alice?" I asked as soon as Seth started rounding the corner.

"Bella, the Volturi are coming..."

"Wait, why? They can't know about us, can they?"

"Th-they actually might…"

"Alice!" I started, as Leah started screaming.

"GO SETH!"

I looked up as Seth reversed his grip on the baton, holding it forward for Embry to receive. The hand off was as flawless as the two before.

"RUN EMBRY RUN!"

"Where are you Bella?!"

"At the festival… Look Alice, now really isn't a good time, can we come by after the festival comes to a close? This is the first time the pack can relax and act somewhat normal…"

"I-I understand Bella. We'll see everyone at midnight?"

"Sounds good."

"Bye…"

"Bye Alice." When I slipped my phone back into my pocket, Leah was staring at me. "What?"

"What did Alice say that made you miss the last hand-off?" she asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

"It's nothing Leah." I responded, forcing a smile.

"But…" Leah started, silenced by a glare that made her shrink a bit.

I glanced back at the track, Embry starting the final curve, the closest runner to him just coming out of the first curve, the last place runners just starting their final leg.

"GO EM!"

He looked up for a second, and flashed a small smile before accelerating through the finish line, the crowd cheering as he met with Quil, Jake and Seth. Jake glanced up at me, concern in his glance.

I tilted my head to the left, and started walking out of the stands, Leah following.

"I need to talk to Jake alone Leah." I stated, stopping but not turning around before continuing.

I met Jake on the left side of the stands, the red and black bricks separating us from the other cheering spectators up in the stands, a good six yards above us.

"What's on your mind Bells?"

"You'd better clear everyone's schedules tonight Jake, we have a meeting to attend."

"Why? Everything's good…"

"No Jake, it's not. Somehow a loose end was left dangling, and now it's starting to unravel the whole cloth. Alice is going to tell us more tonight."

"Bells. You _need _to tell me what's happening, what Alice saw that's so urgent…"

"No Jake, I don't. We need this day to relax, and I'm not going to ruin it for anyone because we left a few loose ends."

"But…"

"Get in the stands- my race is next." I stalked past him, meeting Leah, Liza and Kathy on the track for the four by two.

~*~X~*~

Jake and I sat on the cliffs overlooking the beach, watching the fireworks shooting high into the air, plumes of bright colors lighting up the night sky.

One bonfire remained burning at the end of the show- the packs'.

I curled into Jake's side, our warmth flowing between us. "Jake, no matter what happens, I'll always love you." I mumbled, making to stand up.

"You're starting to scare me Bells, what has you so shaken up?" He asked, helping me up before wrapping his hefty arm around my shoulder.

"Jake I…" I started, before a howl that I didn't recognize cut through the air. "Is that…?"

Jake nodded before dropping his shorts and phasing. My face was burning up when he turned back to me, his huge eyes filled with sorrow. He pawed at his shorts, pushing them towards me before turning back around.

I sighed as I picked the shorts off the ground, tucking them under the black leather band on Jake's hind leg.

I started walking towards the cover of the trees, when I felt a wet nose on my neck. "Jake…" I moaned, weakly pushing his muzzle away from me. He whined softly, rubbing the side of my face with his massive head "Go Jake, I'll be there in a sec." He whined again, gently nudging me towards the woods again.

As soon as I was out of Jake's immediate sight, I stripped and phased, wincing at the huge amount of confusion in the pack mind.

_"I'm a fucking wolf!"_

_"This isn't possible… no…"_

_"Who cares if this is possible!? It just happened- we exploded into freaking wolves."_

_"Maybe this is just a dream? Yeah, it has to be that- just a dream…"_

_"Where are you two?" _Jake asked as he walked next to me, leaning into me slightly so that our fur mixed a little.

_"Holy shit, we're going crazy Xav."_

_"But we could already hear each other…" _The second voice mumbled, the first voice going on a tirade about being a wolf.

_"Might wanna howl for the others Jake."_

_"Yep." _Jake threw his head back and howled, the rest of the pack slowly phasing in, gradually coming to meet the sixteenth and seventeenth wolves.

~*~(JPOV)~*~

Nix, Embry, Bella and I jogged through the Cullen's' territory, the rest of the pack put on the task of calming the two newcomers down enough so they could phase back.

"Why exactly are we visiting the Cullens again?" Nix asked.

"Alice told Bella that she needed to tell us something, because apparently we missed something somewhere."

"How could there still be something we missed? Ursula's been settled, and the packs have combined. What else could there be to disrupt anything?"

Bella looked away from the rest of us, keeping to herself.

"I'm sure that Alice will tell us, won't she Bella?"

She just nodded.

The rest of the trip was enveloped in light banter between Nix, Embry and I, Bella keeping to herself on the outskirts of our conversation, which often strayed to guessing what Alice may have seen.

As soon as we broke through the trees bordering the Cullen's mansion, Alice and Edward were in front of us.

"Hey guys." Alice said nervously, a false smile adorn on her face while Edward looked forlorn.

"Just tell them Alice." Bella stated, her voice thick with emotion.

"Well… The Vol… Uh, one of you was…" Alice stuttered, Edward cutting through Alice's jibberish.

"The Volturi saw one of you at the field and they are now coming to both destroy our family and kill..."

"That matters to us because…?" Nix lead on.

"Because… Because they're going to kill us too." Bella mumbled.

Her words silenced everything around us- even the wind paused as everything sunk in. The crossaires of the major powerhouse of the supernatural world's rage was trained on the Olympic Peninsula.

"C-Can we fight them?" Nix hesitantly asked.

"We could try, but it is very unlikely that we would win." Edward responded.

"But we need to try." I replied "We need to try to win."

~*~(AlecPOV)~*~

"Marisol, what is it?" Aro asked the still fairly new member of the guard.

All eyes turned to her as her crimson eyes refocused on the marble room.

"The cast has assembled, preproduction is just starting… Filming will begin shortly…" she mumbled.

"Wonderful." Aro clapped "The venue will be open this Autumn! We will end all life in that sorrowful place of the world!"

I forced a pained smirk, feigning happiness.

_What's wrong?_

_Nothing._

~*~X~*~

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	85. United as One

I have no excuses for not updating for the last two days.

My favorite chapter is next.

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 84 United as One (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

Here we are, all back together in the field. Vampires and werewolves, coming together for a common goal. Again.

Forks is under a vampire threat once again, and this time we may not make it out alive. Hell, we have virtually no hope of winning this fight.

_"Don't think like that Jake- it'll discourage the pups."_

Oh yeah, six new wolves have phased, the oldest ones being seventeen years old. Harper and Xavier are the two that phased when the hierarchy and I went to visit Alice. Fifteen-year-old Caleb was the next to phase, three days after the other two, and fourteen-year-old Ross phased the following morning.

Fifteen-year-old Taylor phased about twelve days ago. Being another of my second cousins he fell right into the pack life, just as Colin did. Sixteen-year-old Griffin was the last of them to phase, his wolf having finally come out a few days ago. Of the six new wolves, he adjusted the best, though that's mainly attributed to his older brother's presence in the pack- Harper.

The new wolves have been spending the better part of the past month getting accustomed to pack life, and being trained by Sam, Dustin, Jared and Paul, them having been the members of the original pack hierarchy and being among the best fighters we had.

The rest of us were busy training with the Cullens, whom have recently contacted their extended family in Denali and a few close family friends to aid us in the upcoming fight.

_"Hey Jake, five unknown vamps at the border." _Quil piped from his place on patrol.

I looked to Edward, questioning if they were the Denalis. "How many have blonde hair and are nearly identical?"

_"How many blondies look like twins Quil?" _Edward gave me a disdainful look, to which I responded with a shrug.

_"Three; they look like fucking clones Jake, it's unnatural!"_

_"What about the other two?" _I asked, anticipating Edward's next question.

_"Uh, they look Spanish? And the guy is standing really close to the chick…"_

I relayed the information to Edward "It's them." He stated.

_"Let them through Quil." _I ordered, watching as Quil attempted to make speech with his body language.

_"I'd like to see you try this Jake."_ He snapped, to which I growled _"Sorry…" _he whined, lowering his head and flattening his ears.

I then felt something seeping around my head, making it harder for me to think clearly. I glared at Ursula.

"Sorry Jake!" She piped, my head immediately clearing again.

Bella was right- that had been Ursula's gift, hypnotism. My eyes focused on the glittering object on Ursula's left ring finger, the numerous diamonds glimmering in the gray light just as her skin now does in sunlight.

"She did say yes." Edward reminded me, his all too perfect voice sending a shiver down my spine. How could anyone want to devote themselves to an eternity with someone else? "Love."

I shook my head, loping towards Bella, whom still isn't affected by Ursula.

_"Why am I the only one who isn't affected by her?" _Bella wondered.

I thought for a while, before a memory from long ago surfaced:

_"I can't be certain that your gift is in fact a mental shield, as something is blocking my gift as well, but it appears that you do in fact possess a mental shield. A mental shield can block any gift that involves the mind, such as Edward's ability to read minds."_

_"Right…" _Bella trailed _"That Eleazar guy is a member of the Denalis, right?"_

Bella's question was answered as soon as five vampires with golden eyes came out of the forest. Three platinum blondes that looked identical in every sense of the word, only their expressions and hair styles setting them apart from the others. One had her hair loose, the almost white strands falling freely about her face, wearing a gentle expression. Another had her hair in a tight bun in the back of her head, her expression showing pain and anger, while the last one had her hair up in such a way it almost seemed to cascade from the loose bun it was in. Her expression was the most neutral of the three. Then there was the two 'Spanish' ones that Quil mentioned. I'd give him that the girl looked kinda like she was from Spain, but I don't know how he saw it in Eleazar.

"Hello wolf." Her voice was laced with a natural Spanish accent, the simple words slipping off her tongue in such a beautiful way.

_"Jake!"_ Bella snapped.

Sheesh, can't I admire someone's accent without my imprint harping on me?

**_Nope._**

_Traitor._

~*~X~*~

It's been a week since the Denalis have arrived here in Forks, and school's started for about half the pack. While the younger members of the pack are at school, the rest of us have been sparsely patrolling, instead favoring training with the only two vampires that can give us some semblance to how the Volturi can fight- Kate and Ursula.

Ursula's hypnosis and Kate's illusion of electrolysis are the only two gifts that have some semblance to the gifts of the Volturi. Granted Alice and Edward can help us train, since their gifts essentially give them precognition, which at least one of the Italian vampires must have, but they don't really threaten our minds instead seeing our decisions and going off those instead.

"Hey Jazz, we're home!" A male voice called from downstairs.

Jasper's hand met his face in a facepalm as we all turned toward the stairs, in anticipation of seeing whoever disturbed our brief respite from our training.

A dirty blonde male walked up the staircase, followed by a strawberry blonde female. They didn't hold themselves with an air of hostility, though they did smell different. I just assumed it was because we had adjusted to the Cullens' and the Denali's scent, until I saw the color of their irises.

Their eyes were a bold maroon.

I started shaking, the rest of the pack looking at me questionably.

"Why does it smell like a doghouse in here? Aren't the house cleaners around here up to your standards?" The male joked, shifting his easy going gaze to me "What's wrong bro, cat got your tongue?" He met my eyesight "I get it, you haven't fed for a while. Totally understandable with everything that's going to go down…"

He was gut off by a harsh growl that ripped out of my throat, Embry and Nix instinctively joining me, their low growls nearly completing a chord. Bella looked between me and the newcomers, finally realizing what had me so upset before glaring at them. Like that'd do any good.

"Woa, cosplaying as a wolf now? I don't keep up with the times that well, but I'm pretty sure furries aren't accepted all that well anymore…"

"Pete, ya might wanna step back." Jasper interrupted, having finally ended his extended facepalm.

"Why Jazz, he's just…"

"You feed on humans." I growled so low that even I had a hard time distinguishing the words from my growls.

**_Go get em!_**

"What?" the male questioned, the female having retreated behind Jasper.

"Your eyes are red." Embry growled.

"You kill humans." Nix added, the deep rumbling coming from his chest showing he way anything but playful or happy.

"You _eat_ innocent people." I continued, the rest of the pack, who were outside also started to growl, each one of their timbres blending into what a musician would see as a perfect chord, granted they looked past all the context and the danger the growl represented.

"No no no, you've got it all wrong…"

"How so?" I seethed, not in any mood to negotiate with bloodsuckers that poised a threat to the people of Forks.

"Jacob, please calm down…" Jasper tried to soothe. I felt a wave oof calm wash over me, only to be burnt away by my anger, the fact that Jasper was trying to manipulate my emotions only serving as fuel to feed my flaming anger.

"Stop it!" Ursula wailed as I felt my mind start to get foggy. I gripped my head as it felt like something was covering it, taking away my ability to think "Let them explain themselves."

It felt like I couldn't help but obey Ursula's demands, I was scarsly aware of my surroundings- the only thing that kept my wolf from breaking into an all out panic at that point was a hand on my arm, Bella's hand. In training Ursula never forced her will onto us this strongly, this thoroughly before. I could see what was going on, yet I couldn't move a muscle. I could hear and smell every thing going on, but could scarcely even think about moving my limbs.

"You see we…"

~*~X~*~

Alice had a vision yesterday about the fight, apparently tomorrow's the big day. It's been three weeks since Peter and Charlotte came to help us, adding their abilities to our small group.

Today was the last day before the fight, and today's the day the pack will learn about all the firepower the Volturi possess. Both Eleazar and Carlisle have both spent time with the Volturi, and both have valuable information about the coven that could help us win.

The twenty-one wolves of the wolfpack all sat on the cushion of pine needles outside, the newest six sitting on their haunches in their wolf forms, one of them daydreaming about his imprint, whom he had been crushing on for the past few years.

I turned and met his brown gaze "**Focus on the lecture Taylor. Don't think about Kristen until you're dismissed.**" I ordered, my voice dripping with alpha authority. I watched as Taylor whimpered a little, his head falling to his paws as he pouted. I knew that he would listen- He knew the punishment if he didn't. After he first phased, Taylor thought that because he was related to me that he was like a 'mini alpha' and started ordering the other new wolves around. I shot that fantasy down with a few laps around La Push and midnight patrols for a week.

Taylor imprinted on Kristen when she came to the beach with a few of her friends from Forks- The pack was having a bonfire and we didn't notice Taylor slip away. By the time we noticed he had gone, he was running back to us panicked because the emotions that came with the imprint had almost knocked him out. Since then Kristen's been let in on the secret, though I don't know how we managed to fit a welcoming bonfire into our busy schedule of training for the newborn fight.

"Aro is the leader of the Volturi, and by his side stand Marcus and Cauis. They typically rule in a democratic fashion, two of three votes wins." Carlisle started.

"Marcus is the most level headed of the three, except where werewolves are concerned. After he was changed, his wife was killed by a werewolf, fueling the near-extinction of werewolves today. Cauis is the most aggressive of the Volturi leaders, preferring to end everything with violence rather than diplomatically. Aro is the perfect balance of the two, keeping a calm demeanor while still housing a slight preference for violence. Aro also has the gift of tactile mind reading." Eleazar explained.

"They also lead an army of vampires with gifts, each possessing a unique ability that they use to exploit their enemies weaknesses. Two of their main guard members, Felix and Demetri have no gifts, though they have abilities that far surpass those of others. Felix's strength is unparalleled and Demetri is the best tracker in the world."

"Two more of their cornerstone members are twins with similar abilities. Jane can create an illusion of immense pain, however it is limited to just one person. Alec can numb the senses, much more devastating than Jane by far. His gift has no limitations and can cripple an entire army within seconds.

While those are the four cornerstone members, there are also a few others to take note of. Heidi can trick the mind into attraction, drawing anyone to her as a moth to a flame. Chelsea can detect the strength of the bonds between two people and Agatha can manipulate and break those bonds, able to make it seem as though your best friend was your greatest enemy. Before I left with Carmen, Aro did have me locate one more person for him- his distant relative Marisol, whom had weak objective foresight abilities at the time I found her. I don't know much more about her due to the fact that Carmen and I left Italy soon after I located Marisol for Aro. I'm fairly certain that nothing can impede her visions, though they might be inflated due to her former career in the film business. However, I don't have much definite information about her since she was changed after I left."

~*~(AlecPOV)~*~

"The curtain is drawn, the stage is set. The actors are taking position and awaiting cue… Which side will prevail? Not a clue." Marisol rhymed as the members of the guard flooded into the main chamber of the stone building.

Felix, Demetri, Jane and I were all separated, the four cornerstones of the Volturi guard spread amongst the rest of the guard.

"It is time to make our appearance!" Aro announced, cheers breaking out throughout the room "The time has come, the Cullens shall perish!"

~*~X~*~

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	86. The Grand Battle Royale

This is the moment that you've been anticipating in this final story arc! This is my FAVORITE chapter of the entire story, and that should show through, as it -is- the longest chapter.

Now, as to prevent confusion, I will list all of the wolves following this, in the relative order of the hierarchy- the only definite ones there are are the Alpha, Beta, Third, and Omega.

The wolves are as follows:

Alpha: Jacob & Bella

Beta: Nix

Third: Embry

Seth

Leah

Danny

Quil

Liza

Dustin

Jared

Drew

Sam

Paul

Colin

Brady

Harper

Xavier

Caleb

Ross

Taylor

Omega: Griffin

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and the changes in the plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 85 The Grand Battle Royale (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

The Cullens stood in a slight arc in the middle of the field, the meadow once filled with the vibrant colors of wildflowers now brown and dead, the few deciduous trees a canvas of warm colored leaves.

A chilly breeze cut through our fur, the scent carried on the air promising some form of precipitation. The twenty-one members of the pack lied in wait, hidden among the bushed that had retained their foliage.

Bella spread her mental shield over me, the protection filtering throughout the pack; something we had learned during our training with Kate and Ursula, at Eleazar's urging. One side effect was that we each had perfect control of our thoughts, which wasn't that bad, except we were used to more freedom among the pack mind.

The Denalis and Jasper's friends, whom we've dubbed the 'Civil War Duo' were also hiding with us, though they were concealed among the multicolored foliage of the trees.

The scent hit us before the vampires broke the treeline.

Three in heavy cloaks- one gray, black and brown, the brown taking the point with the black to its right and gray to the left. Then followed four vampires, black hoods barely resting on their heads- three males and a female. From the descriptions Carlisle and Eleazar gave, Felix, Demetri, Alec and Jane from right to left. A line of three emerged from either side of the central group, their faces covered with their black hoods. At least three of them were wearing stiletto heels. A group of four glided from the woods to either side of the line of three, another group seven wide and two deep also emerging behind the central most members.

As if they were all connected to a marionette, they all lifted their hands to their hoods, lifting the flaps of cloth off their heads before gently placing them behind their heads.

We scanned the crowd for vampires that were described to us- Heidi and Chelsea were standing opposite each other in the lines of three, while the three in front were Aro, Marcus and Caius, Aro taking the point with Marcus to his right and Caius to his left.

"Ah, Carlisle. What a pleasure to see you again after, what has it been? Three hundred years?"

"Four hundred fifty seven to be exact. The pleasure's all mine Aro. Might I ask why the entire guard has come to meet us?"

"I thought you understood Carlisle, you have broken a law of the Volturi."

"We reported a new member of the coven, we've adhered to your rule as well as any other coven."

The pack started scanning the eyes of each vampire, on the lookout for the bronze eyed vampire Alice told us about.

Imagine our surprise when one of the Volturi cornerstones himself had the miscolored orbs- Alec was the odd one out, everything about him betraying his forced expression. Despite how hard he attempted to portray a stoic statue, hesitation shone in his eyes as well as another emotion… admiration?

"You know full well what rule you've violated Carlisle." Aro announced.

"Please enlighten us Aro." Carlisle replied, milking the innocent act for all that it would be worth.

"You've befriended werewolves. That alone is cause enough to warrant your deaths."

"What are you talking about Aro? There aren't any werewolves around here."

"That is where you're mistaken Carlisle." Jane cut in "The last time we were here you were allied with werewolves, and I suspect that is the only reason this coven escaped the fight unharmed."

The vampires shifted formation, the front pair in the lines of three moving in front of their leaders, whom in turn shifted behind the four behind them.

Demetri glanced around the woods, his eyes searching out for us. His head snapped back into place as Aro gave the decree "Kill the Cullen coven!"

The mass of vampires charged the Cullens. Peter and Char were the first to jump out of their hiding places among the red foliage, followed suit by the Denalis.

_"Now!" _I cried through the mind link, triggering all twenty-one of us to flood into the clearing.

Colin was the first of us to leap at one of the Volturi, his head meeting an invisible barrier that left him stunned. The vampire he had leaped at holding both of his hands in front of him, as if he were trying to prevent a wall from falling.

"The russet one Agatha!" Chelsea cried, pointing at me. A woman who appeared to be in her late forties focused her leer on me, her purple dress fluttering around her. For all the concentration she appeared to be exerting, I felt nothing; probably attributed to Bella's mental shield.

I charged the leech trying to do something to me, when I was met by something relatively solid. The vamp that had blocked Colin's attack was now standing in front of me, his two hands extended in front of him, separated by about a foot.

"No!" The vamp I had been attempting to charge shrieked, as Brady leapt on her. The leech in front of me turned toward the noise, his hands falling just slightly, moving about two feet from each other.

I scrambled to my feet and pounced on him, my paw landing on an invisible solid platform above his hand as I tore his head off, the sound of clay tearing apart assaulting my ears.

I looked around after I flung the head into the fray, the body part immediately being crushed under the others' feet. I spotted Ursula and Alec engaged in an intense stare down, love and admiration licking at the edges of both their gazes. Shaking the thought out of my mind, I charged towards Bella, whom was engaged in an intense stare down with Felix.

Seth was standing by Bella, his fur standing on end as a low growl rumbled out of his chest. I noticed Quil also charging from behind, leaping into the air, his claws poised for an attack. Felix's eyes shifted a millisecond before Quil would've landed, his fists coming into contact with Quil's flank, sending him flying into a tree.

_"Quil!" _ I cried out as his thoughts faded to black. I redoubled my efforts to get to Felix.

_"Jake, stop!"_ Bella pleaded, looking at me with remorse in her big brown eyes _"We can't do anything right now- we need to win!"_

I nodded, shifting my stride to angle myself at the female vampire running to reinforce Felix. I charged her, my fangs bared. She stopped just inched away from my fangs as I slid by her, struggling to stop my momentum.

When I turned around, she smirked. She freaking smirked! Red licking at the edges of my vision I leaped at her, just to meet the ground where she once stood. I lunged and she didn't flinch.

_What's with this chick?_

**_How should I know?_**

I leaped at her again, and I caught her hair as she was pirouetting out of the way, pulling some of her brown locks from her scalp. I spit them out before she charged me. I barely had enough time to roll out of the way, her leg catching on my hind leg. I saw my opportunity arise as she tripped, landing face first in the mud. I jumped on her, hearing hundreds of little cracking noises as I pushed as hard as I could on her back. I lowered my jaw, engulfing her head in my massive maw, snapping my mouth shut. The sound of shattering pottery and glass sounded as shards of the vampires head flew everywhere.

"It would appear that even Marisol had her faults, for shame." One of the leaders stated, stoically standing in the middle of the field.

I turned back to Bella and Seth, to see both of them pinned by Felix, another vamp walking towards them. I leaped at Felix, noticing Rosalie running for the approaching vamp.

Felix again tried to turn at the last second, his fist flying towards my face. I closed my eyes anticipating the blow, but I barreled into his body instead, his grip having forgone Bella allowing for her to knock him off balance. Seth ripped his throat out as Bella and I ran back into the fray.

Jane appeared in front of us, her sadistic smile bringing Bella and I to a halt.

"Well well, what do we have here? Wolfy lovers? Pity your love only lasted such a short period of time." Jane's fist sailed toward Bella's head, but she was tackled to the ground by Nix, her hair coming out of its tight bun to splay about her now muddied face. "Why you…" She hissed, being cut off as her head fell from her shoulders. We nodded Nix our thanks, all three of us going our separate ways.

I had just leapt on another vampire when an anguished cry came from a wolf. I turned my head to see Irina standing above an unconscious Embry. One look at my brother was all it took for me to shift my focus towards the platinum blonde.

"Get off me idiot!" she screeched as I tackled her, Edward and Tanya coming to my side immediately, yanking me off the traitor.

"Jacob, control yourself." Edward chided.

Control _myself_?! That bitch should control herself! She attacked Embry for god's sake!

Edward raised an eyebrow, looking toward Irina. Tanya had since gone to assist Kate, and while they were both distracted I made my move, leaping on Irina and clasping my jaw around her shoulder, I bit down as hard as I could until I felt the body part give way, her shoulder shattering into a flurry of splinters.

_"Jacob!" _Bella screeched, her voice making me flinch _"The Denalis are our allies!"_

_"Irina attacked Embry!"_

_"It could've been one of the Volturi Jake! There are blondes among them too!"_

_"There **were** blondes Bella, that leader dude is the only one left! Besides, I saw her standing above Embry with my own eyes!"_

I was suddenly thrown from my place on top of Irina by Carmen and Eleazar, both taking us defensive positions in front of their fellow covenmate.

The sound of shattering pottery announced Rosalie's appearance as shards of Irina's head flew from behind the Denalis. A look of shock crossed their faces, quickly turning into rage as they turned on Rosalie.

"Stop." Edward said, coming out of the daze that he had been in "Irina let her rage get the best of her- she has attacked four wolves so far."

I quickly took stock of the wolves still conscious in the pack mind.

Taylor, Quil, Embry, Harper, Dustin, Brady and Ross were absent from the pack mind, images of their unconscious forms alerting me to the fact that all of them but Embry had been drug into the safety of the woods. I immediately gripped Embry's scruff, dragging him towards the protective foliage when two bodies slammed into my side.

As soon as I recovered from the blow, I saw the last two members of the Denali coven standing next to Embry.

"The Volturi are our enemies, not the wolves; Tanya, Kate." Carmen soothed in her thick Spanish accent.

"But he…"

Carmen shook her head "Irina lost herself, her need for revenge was too great."

All three vampires spared me a glance before running straight back into the fight, more vampires streaming into the clearing from behind the leaders, Jane and Demetri leading them out of the woods.

_"Didn't we kill Jane already?"_

_"She must've put herself back together."_ Nix gritted out, knocking another enemy away from Emmett.

Sam's black wolf approached me _"Let me take care of Embry Jake, you need to get back into the fight."_

I nodded appreciatively, turning around and heading back into the tangle of bodies. I noticed that the only vampiric bodies left strewn about the ground either had their head flung to some other place or had fragments of their heads strewn about the area around their bodies.

_"Be sure to crush their heads!" _I advised, the remaining members of the pack giving their thanks as they refocused on fighting.

I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, and instinct drove me to find Bella. I found her golden form lying motionless underneath Jane, whom was smiling sadistically while standing over her, poised to strike a finishing blow. I released a sorrowful howl as I charged Jane, catching her mid blow, her strike sailing through thin air as we tumbled away from Bella's body.

_"Someone get her out of here!"_ I growled as I felt her mental shield slowly drawing away from my mind, and in turn the rest of the packs minds as well.

Jane's smirk never faded "What dog, sad I injured your mate? Well there's a lot more where that came from." Her gaze focused on me "_Pain_."

The sensation crept up on me slowly, getting stronger the more time Bella's shield had to fade. The pain was unlike anything I had ever felt before, the feeling of being burned alive. My fur was ablaze, the heat tormenting me, even with my abnormal body heat.

Jane's sadistic laughter carried over the crackling in my ears "Yes! Feel it! Feel the pain, the torment, the torture! Madison was right- you had a shield! Imagine the odds that I picked the right one of you!"

Jane's mention of hurting Bella added fuel to the proverbial fire burning within me. I stood from my flattened place against the muddy ground, my fur matted with mud; my gaze trained on Jane, whom was celebrating her own little victory. All the wolves were affected by the Volturi's mental abilities turned their heads towards me. I was fighting her power as she was celebrating.

A low growl rumbled out of my chest.

Jane's eyes widened as my jaw secured itself around her head, her bun of muddied hair coming undone in my maw as I applied a slight pressure.

"Please please please don't do this… Alec! Help me!" Jane cried out, extending an arm towards Alec, whom had his tongue down Ursula's throat "_Pain!_" she screeched.

I winced as the pain licking at my muscles increased a little, spiking for a second before starting to die down.

I applied more pressure, tiny cracking sounds being heard.

The majority of the Volturi stopped and looked at me, including their three leaders.

Demetri screamed as Kate pulled his arms behind his back, using her ability to immobilize him as Tanya tore his head off, throwing it to the ground with the force of a freight train.

As the Volturi's attention was diverted to the two Denali sisters, I clamped my jaw shut, Jane's head shattering into smithereens, her body falling limp.

A loud wail came from Alec, whom was looking at his sister's unmoving body that lacked anything in the shape of a head.

I felt a fog start to invade my mind. It became harder to breathe, my vision was clouding and the scents started fading from around me. My body was becoming numb, my limbs slowly succumbing to the tiredness that was invading my body. I fell to the ground, my breathing labored.

"Alec, NO!" Ursula screeched, and it suddenly became much easier to breathe.

I watched as Alec fell to the ground, his head still very much intact as the remaining members of the Volturi watched in awe, their eyes darting between the four unmoving cornerstones of their guard, three dead and one unconscious.

A harsh wind blew through the clearing, the coldness cutting through my thick fur, the orange and red leaves blowing from the trees. White flecks started falling from the sky, settling on the ground only to be melted a few seconds later.

_"Jake, stay with us!" _Seth pleaded, terror seeping into his voice at my condition.

_"Talk to us Jake!" _Nix tried to order, the beta timbre seeping through. Not that it would've affected me anyways.

The fog was still invading my mind, clouding my thoughts. I struggled to think clearly, to keep my eyes open.

_"Keep your eyes open Jake!" _Jared tried, his plea falling on deaf ears.

_"Jake, please!" _Leah pleaded, Danny leaning into her as his blood seeped out of a nasty gash on his shoulder.

_"Don't die, please don't die!" _Liza groveled, standing protectively over Drew's body, his breathing thin and shallow.

I can't fight it anymore. My eyes slid shut, my body relaxing as my conscious slowly slipped away from me.

**_Good job alpha._**

~*~X~*~

Reviews make me so happy, almost more so than candy...


	87. The Aftermath

Here's the aftermath, and where some serious talking occurs. I don't like serious, but it must be done.

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot changes. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 86 The Aftermath (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

Two heartbeats.

White.

A wedding dress, white roses and black tuxes.

A line of four men in tuxes and three women in dresses.

Three hearts.

A small russet skinned child hugging a red-brown furred wolf leg.

A golden and red- brown head admiring the small child.

Home,

Love,

Bells.

~*~X~*~

My eyelids felt heavy as light assaulted my shut eyes.

I slowly slid my eyes open, harsh sunlight meeting my sensitive eyes. I gently shut them again, snuggling into the pillow behind my head. Bells…

Bells.

Bella!

My eyes shot open as I sat up, taking in my surroundings. I was sitting in one of about fourteen cots laid only about a foot apart, except for the cot to my right, which was pushed flush against my own. My eyes scanned each cot, three of the fourteen being unoccupied, a few having IV poless set up, dripping morphine into the patient.

My gaze rested on the person in the cot adjacent to mine though- Bella, my Bells.

I shifted myself so that I was spooning her on her cot, nuzzling my nose into her hair, inhaling her strawberry scent. I smiled as my eyelids slipped closed again, my mind drifting back to sleep.

~*~X~*~

When my eyes opened again, the area was dark.

My arms were still wrapped around Bella, whom was now facing me and cuddling into my chest.

I smiled as I scented for the others. Only nine wolf scents other than Bella's and my own drifted across my nose.

"Jake…" Bella mumbled as she snuggled further into my chest. I looked at her eyes, finding them still closed and her breathing remaining even.

I heard sounds from outside the room, before there was a rustling sound followed by the scents of three vampires wafting across the room.

"Carlisle, Jacob's gone!" Ursula's hushed whisper came.

"No Urs, he's there, next to Bella." the vampire scent that approached me wasn't one of the Cullens- it was one of the Volturi, I recognized the scent vaguely- Alec.

A growl started to rumble in my chest before I felt Ursula's hypnotism set in "Relax Jacob."

My eyes sunk shut again.

~*~X~*~

The next time I awoke Carlisle was standing over me.

"Morning Jake." I heard from beside me.

I looked down to meet Bella's chocolate gaze, her eyes filled with love.

"Morning Bells." I mumbled as I bent over to kiss her. Her lips moved gently against mine, her lips parting slightly as her hands moved to my face.

Someone coughed behind us, tearing us out of our little world. I looked to see who had interrupted us. Alec was standing there with Ursula, their arms folded across their chests, their eyes sending pointed gazes at us.

I started growling at the sight of Alec "What's _he _doing here?!" I barely managed through the growls pouring out of my chest, my body starting to shake.

"Jake, it's okay!" Bella wailed as she hugged me close.

"How can it be _okay_ Bells!? He's part of the Volturi!"

"No, no I'm not." Alec muttered "Not anymore…"

"What?" I exclaimed as I met his eyes, noticing the bronze color had lightened quite a bit from the fight, which must've been days ago judging from the number of wolves remaining in the cots, at least four of which were attacked by Irina.

"I… I left the Volturi." He mumbled, looking at his feet.

"Why? And what's with your eyes? The rest of the leeches had red eyes."

"He's been eating a diet of animal and human blood for the past six months Jacob." Carlisle explained "Our eye color reflects our diet. Gold is an exclusively animal diet while bright red is exclusively human. Different shades in between vary based upon the proportions of one's diet."

"Besides, he's my mate." Ursula stated.

"But I thought Edward…"

"I never really thought of Edward like that after I was changed. I mean, he was nice and all, but I didn't feel the same love I felt for him before all that. And besides" Ursula gripped Alec's hand "I found my true mate." Her and Alec pecked each other's lips.

"After I passed out, w-what happened?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"Well, once Ursula knocked Alec out, the Volturi went into a blind panic, as all four of their pillars of strength had fallen in one fight. However, Aro saw our weakness due to the amount of wolves that had fallen at once- seven of you fell around the time they knocked Bella out" I growled at the thought, the imprint throbbing at the fact that I couldn't protect my forever love "Aro called another attack, and Ursula used her hypnosis to _suggest_ that the Volturi return to Italy and never return, but not before two more of the wolves were attacked and knocked out. There were only seven wolves standing at the end of the fight Jacob- the rest of you were all injured in some form, each to a varying degree of course." He motioned to the unoccupied cots "You are two of the last seven here, the others being those who were attacked by Irina, and the one who was attacked by Felix."

Quil, Embry, Taylor, Dustin and Harper's scents still remained in the room.

"Quil still has it pretty rough Jake, the others already woke up earlier this morning and are resting." Bella mumbled.

"But we heal…"

"Felix got him good- he was lucky there wasn't any spinal damage." Alec stated "We had to rebreak just about every bone in his body, while I dulled his nerves with my gift…"

"You WHAT!?"

"Jacob, it was necessary- if Alec didn't utilize his gift then Quil would've been in too much pain for him to bear, and if he didn't get his bones reset then he would've died by now."

I was silent as those facts sunk in- Quil could be dead by now, heck we all could be dead by now if it weren't for the fact Alec and Ursula were meant for each other.

"Sorry." I mumbled "What about the other vampires? What'd you do to them?"

"Well, after the Volturi retreated, we burnt all of their bodies, the Volturi were reduced by two thirds their previous size." Ursula replied "We also had to burn Irina, she was a lost cause- her shoulder and head were both shattered."

I tried to hide my smirk.

"The Volturi also took a grand blow to their power." Alec stated "Not only did they lose their power house in Felix and their tracker in Demetri, but they also lost their seer in Marisol, their source of food in Heidi, their bond breaker in Agatha and both of their physical shields in Garrett and Robert…" Ursula's hand moved to Alec's back "And their torturer in my sister."

"Physical shields?"

"The two who seemed to have an invisible wall in front of their hands" Carlisle explained "You killed Robert, and Garrett is now mated to Kate."

"D-did any of you get killed, other than Irina?" I stuttered, amazed that the Volturi held two mates for our allies among their ranks.

"No. Emmett suffered the worst injury…" He trailed off as Bella flinched, sensitive to what could've happened to her friend.

"So when will I be able to leave this cot doc?"

"You were actually completely healed when you woke up yesterday, but we had to force you to sleep until Bella woke up, mainly to prevent you from ripping Alec apart."

~*~X~*~

~2 days later~

"I can't believe that it's finally over." Sam sighed from his place among the pack in the clearing.

"What happens now?" Quil asked as he stretched- he just had his casts removed earlier that morning.

"I guess we… relax?" Nix hesitantly spoke "I mean we've essentially had the last two years of our lives torn from us, we've had to grow up much sooner than we should've because of this responsibility…"

"Do we really need all twenty one of us?" Dustin asked "I know that I can't go back into the military, but I'd like to move forward with my life. After all, our lives were put on pause after we phased, the only ones of us who really made any progress were those of us who imprinted." He shifted his gaze between Sam, Leah, Danny, Nix, Liza, Drew, Bella and I.

"Yeah, half of us are high school graduates, and I don't think I'd be lying if I said that those of us who can want to go to college at last." Jared added.

"But that would mean you would have to give up your wolves." Liza countered "Otherwise there would always be that chance you could imprint, or phase in public."

"That's not true actually." Quil responded, attracting everyone's attention to him "While it is true that some members of the past pack gave up their wolves, the greater majority of them just stopped phasing, their wolves growing dormant inside of them. They also continued to age whenever their wolves fell dormant, their body aging from their level of physical maturity, so we'd all essentially be like five years older than we actually are if we stopped phasing right now."

"So, we should keep phasing until we're twenty-five?" Paul asked.

"I think that would be best." I said, gaining everyone's attention "With the addition of the newest six wolves in the pack, we'd be able to maintain a constant presence for about the next ten or so years, and given that we all just stop phasing, then we'd always have our wolves just under our skins if we needed them."

"That would make the most sense." Nix replied "That way our age would roughly match our physical maturity and we'd always be able to be called upon if it was needed."

"So what about college?" Jared asked, having had high scholastic hopes before having all that torn from him the day he phased.

"You all should have enough control by now to avoid phasing in public, just make sure to check in and keep your wolf active. I think that we should all go pursue our dreams now that the threat has passed."

A series of hoots and howls showed the packs' agreement.

~*~X~*~

I love any review you give me. Almost more so than candy...


	88. All is Fair

Okay everyone, This is the first of the chapters that have been completely rewritten.

Quite a bit of set-up for the finale is included here, as well as what may very well be the best kiss scene that I've ever written.

I'd like to thank each and every one of my reviewers in this chapter, with a special shout out to Matthias Stormcrow, whom has reviewed every single chapter.

Also, I'd like to thank everyone who has added this story to their favorites and story alerts, as well as any who have read any part of this story.

I never imagined that this story would break 100 reviews, or 50,000 views. For that I thank all of you.

Disclaimer: I own only my OCs and the plot. Stephanie Meyer owns the cannon plot as well as the existing characters.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 87 All is Fair When You've Crossed Such Boundaries (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

~*2 months later*~

~December 25~

"Never thought that we'd be having dinner with the Cullens three years ago, did we Sam?" Paul joked as we walked out of the cabin, each of us dressed up as we walked toward the Cullen house.

"Nope. Sure didn't." Sam replied, laughter seeping into his answer. Of all us, Sam's had it the roughest- between being the first of us to phase and the problems he had with his imprint and his wolf, it's good to see Sam laughing.

"So, after everything that's happened between us, this is goodbye." Seth mentioned solemnly. "Yeah, after everything that we've been through, I'm sad to see them go." Quil added.

"It's almost unreal after everything that's happened between us." Jared responded.

"But we've all known that this day was coming- nothing can last forever. Everything must end." Nix stated, Kathy wrapping her arms around his body, leeching his supernatural warmth.

"Knowing doesn't make it any easier." Bella mumbled, leaning into me.

"I know that this is hard, but you know better than any of us that the Cullens can't stay any longer without bringing unnecessary attention to themselves." I replied.

"I'm sure that she knows that Jake, but she has the closest bond to the Cullens of all us." Embry cut in.

"Come on- we don't want to talk about the Cullens leaving all day today do we?" Taylor added, walking backwards in front of us as Kristen chatted with Emily, and Kathy whom had moved away from Nix.

~*~(BPOV)~*~

"Merry Christmas everyone!" Alice shrieked as the pack streamed into the Cullen house, each and every one of us dressed in the vibrant greens and reds of the holiday season. Billy and Sue met us behind Alice, greeting each and every one of the pack and imprints as they entered the overly decorated house.

The scents of pine, evergreen and apple cider filled the house, filling the entire space with the scents of the season. Brilliant red and green streamers were strewn across the halls and ceiling, pine garlands and holy weaving through the fragile decorations, velvet ribbons and bows also in the mix; turning the pristine walls of the Cullen house into a cacophony of color and festiveness- one could almost quite literally feel the holiday joy radiating from the walls of the house.

"Bienvenida."

I turned my head at the sound of Carmen's rich accent, moving away from Jake as he went to deposit our presents under the massive fir that had been erected in the living room, decorated in much the same fashion as the walls, the only difference being the blown glass orbs shining all across the tree, the orbs sporadically placed among the ceiling and walls as well.

"Carmen!" I exclaimed as I approached the member of the Denali Coven. "It's so good to see you again!" I said as I hugged the vegetarian vampire as two old friends reconnecting for the first time in years "How are Kate and Tanya doing?" I asked in a hushed voice, knowing that Irina's betrayal and second death was very much still a sensitive subject for the recovering coven.

"Kate's doing fine, mainly because of Garrett, and Tanya's taken up the harp again."

"Really?"

"At Edward's urging none the less." Carmen looked around before leaning into my ear, whispering so silently that another would have had to be standing directly next to us in order to hear "I believe that Edward has been mated to Tanya- he came with us when we returned home after the incident with the Volturi, and they've been virtually inseperatable ever since."

"I'm glad that he's finally found his forever."

"As we feel for Tanya."

"Hey Bells!" Jake called as he approached the two of us "Everyone's here- even Peter and Char!"

"Excuse me." Carmen whispered as she left Jake and I.

"What was that about?"

"Just some girl talk…"

"Come on Bella- you know that you can tell me anything."

"Jake I…"

"Hey Jake!" Quil's voice caused the crowd to focus all their attention on us.

"What do you want Quil!?" Jake yelled back.

"Look up!"

Jake looked surprised as I looked up, seeing the white berries resting in a bed of smooth leaves tied at the top with a rich red velvet ribbon.

Jake didn't look fazed, until I tapped his chest and pointed up. He finally relented and looked up, his eyes widening as he took in what he was standing directly under.

"So you going to kiss her or what Jake!?" Paul hollered from the crowd.

"Bells I…"

"Just shut up and kiss me." I silenced him as he leaned in, our lips meeting. His soft pink lips danced around mine, my mouth slightly open in invitation. The rest of the room faded out as we deepened the kiss, Jake's mouth tasting like cider and his own unique taste that could only be described as pure Jacob.

"Okay you lovebirds, you've given us enough of a show!"

Jake and I broke apart at the sound of one of the pack's voices; whom we weren't quite sure as said person broke up our kiss.

"Well then" Esme started "It might please you all to know that the dinner buffet is ready."

As Jake and I slowly made our way into the kitchen, the succulent scents of the mouthwatering food beginning to overtake the fresh pine scent that had previously filled the house. My mouth started to water more and more the closer we got to the kitchen, the smells almost becoming overwhelming. My eyes felt like they grew to the size of the dinner plates that were set out to serve ourselves on at the sight of the buffet; mounds of turkey and ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy were spread throughout the whole kitchen. Other side dishes that were squeezed in the small gaps between plates included green beans, salads, candied yams, rolls and bean casseroles. Apple cider, eggnog and apple wine were sitting in huge bowls on their own table, piles of pumpkin and apple pies stacked behind them. Leafy lettuce, various herbs, lights, ornaments and garlands were strewn throughout the remaining spaces, the entire kitchen smelling of spiced cider and evergreen in addition to the smells of all the food.

"Now I haven't cooked for a very long time, but please tell me what you think of everything."

I simply nodded as I took a plate and started filling it, starting first with the tossed salad, followed by turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and stuffing. I took a cup of hot apple cider before heading outside, where there were picnic tables and benches arranged around a makeshift stage of sorts, Edward's ebon piano and a beautiful harp which I assumed to belong to Tanya resting atop the wood.

As the pack slowly filtered out of the kitchen and settled at the picnic benches, Edward and Tanya started playing their instruments, the beautiful chords of the holiday season floating through the crisp forest air. One by one the vampires came out of the house- A pair of light bronze eyes, a pair of bronze eyes, two pair of red eyes and ten pairs of gold eyes.

Jovial dinnertime conversation filled the outside of the house, the harmonious chords of the holidays sounding in the background as Edward and Tanya continued playing throughout the entire meal, never once pausing for a break.

"It's time for presents!" Alice squealed after we had each finished our second pieces of pie, virtually every member of the pack already having gone back for a third piece.

As we trailed into the living room, we all looked on in awe at the sight of the tree, again.

Before, there were only the pack's presents to each other and the Cullens, but now the bottom of the tree was overflowing with brightly wrapped packages, shining golds and silvers along with brilliant reds, green in addition to all the foil papers.

"Find your names people!" Alice called out, causing a mad rush to the base of the tree, rich laughter filling the immense room as we playfully pushed each other out of the way.

"Oh my God!" Everyone turned their head at Leah's exclamation, seeing a rich red-brown colored violin in her hands "You really didn't have to do this…"

"Nonsense. Money is no object to us." Esme started before Emmett interrupted her.

"After all, what do we need money for? We could practically steal anything we wanted."

"Emmett!" Esme scolded as Emmett laughed.

"Not that we would… After all, as long as we have Alice we can always have more money than even the government!"

"Really!?" a few of the younger pack members exclaimed. I knew what was going through their minds- the dreams of grandeur and of being rich that manifest themselves at such a young age.

"Woah…" Our heads were redirected at Seth's gasp, everyone seeing him as he gently removed a silver trumpet from the high-quality case that the instrument was stored in.

"Holy…" Nix drew our attention from Seth as we saw the open case sitting in his lap.

"What is it Nix?" Danny Asked from his place next to Leah.

"A grenadilla clarinet… These things are rare- it's almost unheard of to find one new these days…"

"Well like we said- Money is no object to us." Edward replied "After all, how much do you think my piano cost?"

"Point taken…" Nix mumbled, gently shutting the case as if it would shatter if he shut it too firmly.

"Go on guys- open the rest of your presents!" Alice cheered, taking it upon herself to sort out the remaining packages.

~*~X~*~

"We'll meet you at the cabin, kay guys?" Jake told the pack as they started to filter out of the Cullen house.

"Is this really the last time that we'll see you guys?" I asked Alice, tears beginning to pool in the corners of my eyes.

"I don't know Bella. My visions are clearer when they involve you, but I still can't see much beyond the wolves…"

"Forget about your visions Alice- what do you feel in your heart?"

"I… Definitely Bella. We'll see each other again- it's a promise."

"Thank you Alice…" I cried as I hugged Alice, huge tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Here Bella- one last gift to you and Jake from all of us." Alice said, handing me two envelopes.

"Alice it's not really necessary…"

"Yes Bella, it is, or at least for our peace of mind. There's two million dollars in each envelope."

"That's way too much Alice!"

"No it's not Bella- we're the cause so many of you have had to grow up so quickly, have had your childhood and innocence torn from you like it was nothing."

"Alice we can't…"

"Please Bella, we insist. The least we can do is ensure that you can live however you want for the rest of your lives."

"A-Alice…"

"Oh, and Bella?"

"Wh-what?"

"Be sure to invite me to your wedding."

I nodded "Of course Alice- I wouldn't miss you for anything."

"Good." Alice nodded "Bella, I want you to know that you'll always be my best friend." Alice said quickly before running off, leaving the house in favor of being outside with everyone else.

"You okay Bells?" Jake asked me as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"I-I think so Jake. It-it's just that we may never see Alice again…"

"We don't know that Bells. We control our own fate- we aren't bound to some predetermined path made for us by the gods."

"Jake… I'll miss her."

"I wouldn't expect anything else. Now, why don't you look up?"

I glanced up, seeing the white berries and ribbon hanging above me- the mistletoe.

"So where's my kiss?"

"Jake…"

"Oh well, who cares who starts it?" He mused out loud, pressing his lips to mine in a passionate dance of love, caring and compassion.

As this chapter of our lives ends, another begins- our story. No one can write our story but us. We are the authors of our own lives. Our lives are unwritten, a story that only we can weave.

~*~X~*~

Please review. I love reviews, and candy, but I like reviews more than candy (they last longer)


	89. All These Good Times

I wrote this chapter after I watched the Men's team archery finals. -_-

This chapter changed drastically from it's original form. I might post it's original form as an outtake.

Well, This is the second chapter of the finale of this fic. I'll save all my heartfelt stuff for the epilogue though, as in the last chapter when I did that, everyone thought that it was the last chapter. And, it really could've been, but I had planned to get through all the major events of the saga, and there was one that was left out of this whole fic. I know that one of you knows what it is, but I wonder if the rest of you know? Please tell me what you think the scene is in a review.

So, I suppose that everything from here on out -could- be considered an epilogue... But the 'True' Epilogue will be chapter 92.

Disclaimer: I only own what came out of my head, such as my OCs and the changed plot. The existing plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 88 All These Good Times (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

~2 years later~

"Ten."

They were one shot away from winning the gold- one arrow remaining, the score 220 to 216.

We were all sitting on the edge of our seats as Nix drew the arrow back, the clock ticking down. He took a breath and released the arrow.

"Ten! Team USA takes the gold over South Korea!"

Cheers erupted throughout the room as we cheered our packmate on. This year, we persuaded Nix and Danny to go to the Olympic archery trials, and they made the team, both of them competing in both the men's team and men's individual events. Both Nix and Danny had made it to the round of sixteen in the individual, where they were pitted against each other and Nix came out on top by two points. In the semifinals, Nix lost by an unlucky shot and went on to take the bronze..

"They won!" Liza cheered, slamming her lips on Drew's out of pure happiness. While caught off guard, Drew shared in Liza's joy, though it probably stemmed more from the impulsive kiss.

"How're we going to celebrate?" Emily asked, rubbing her swollen stomach, heavy with her and Sam's child.

"Why not a party?" Seth suggested.

"Yeah, we could surprise them!" Taylor added "A surprise party!"

"That could work…"

~*~(JaredPOV)~*~

I was the lucky one they choose to lure Nix and Danny back to the cabin. I was getting strange looks from the other people and security as I stood waiting for my packmates at the baggage claim.

A cheer rang throughout the terminal, and I knew who was coming. Nix and Danny walked down the stairs, wearing the uniforms they wore during both the opening and closing ceremonies- dark blue pants, a dark blue double breasted jacket and a dark blue beret, each piece accented with maroon. Around each of their necks were their medals- both of them having a gold, and Nix having a bronze in addition to his gold.

They were both holding their carry-ons, which I'd assume contained their gear, as the luggage started coming down to the carousel.

"Congrats guys." I greeted as they got closer to me.

"That was so awesome!" Danny exclaimed, causing a few heads to turn that weren't already turned.

"Yeah." Nix agreed.

"It must've been tough getting put against each other in the round of sixteen."

"Yeah, but we still love each other." Danny laughed, throwing his arm around Nix's shoulder, pulling his older brother into his side. Nix grinned as he too laughed, the light hearted laugh that we had all started rediscovering over the past few years.

"Hey, our bows just came through." Nix commented, looking towards the irregularly sized baggage, where two cases came through "We'll be right back Jared."

The two left to retrieve their bows, when their checked baggage came through- I could tell through their heavy scents that clung to the bags. I took the bags off the carousel, meeting Nix and Danny with their bows halfway.

"So, why'd they choose you to come get us instead of Dustin or Liza?"

"Well for one thing, I was the only one that could get time off work to pick you guys up, and second, the council members are having a meeting right now, leaving only me."

"Everyone's working?" Nix questioned disbelievingly, obviously doubting my sincerity. Hell, if I were in Nix's position, I wouldn't believe me either. But, we need them to believe us for our plan to work.

"Think about it Nix- everyone's graduated by now, and the younger ones are probably running patrols while everyone else is working." Danny spoke, surprisingly supporting my argument.

"Well, I guess that makes sense." Nix conceded as he walked past me, not needing to know where I had parked my truck.

"You owe me." Danny hissed, winking at me as he walked past me, in pursuit of his brother.

**_I don't like owing people Jared._**

_Neither do I my friend. At least Danny probably won't hold it over my head for the rest of our life._

**_I wouldn't count on it._**

_Gah._

~*~(JPOV)~*~

"Come on everyone, Jared just texted me- they'll be here in a half hour!" Bella called out as Emily and Leah started layering the first layer of the tiered cake that Bella had planned, and spent the last day baking. "Liza, how's the buttercream coming?!"

"Third batch is almost done boss!" Liza called back, in the same manor that she did in their bakeshop- Bella opened a bakery a few years ago, and their business is booming- so much so that on occasion they have to employ the aid of the pack to get all their orders done on time. The original staff of the bakery included Leah, Emily, Liza and Bella, obviously. But their popularity soon soared, and they were pretty much forced to hire more, Drew, Danny, Colin, Seth, Harper, Caleb and Ross getting jobs at the bakery, while the rest of us got jobs elsewhere. Quil, Embry and I started a garage, hiring Paul, Sam, Dustin and Brady. Jared got a job at a bookstore in Port Angeles along with Taylor and Nix, while Xavier and Griffin got jobs as waiters in different restaurants, also in Port Angeles.

"Third tier's filling is almost done boss!" Caleb announced as Ross poured more food coloring into the sticky mixture.

"Good. The fondant Seth?"

"Just about done Bella!" Seth called out, rolling out the smooth paste in powdered sugar as Liza set another bowl of finished icing on the counter.

"I need two people who aren't Quil over here to help layering the second tier."

"Why can't I help?" Quil whined.

"Because the last time you 'helped' we ended up having to rebake a cake and remake an entire batch of frosting because you ate it all!"

Taylor and Colin started layering the cake while Bella was pushing Quil out of the large kitchen.

"The filling's done boss!" Caleb announced.

"So's the pouring fondant!" Drew announced, moving with Caleb to a rather large yellow cake.

"You guys know the drill for a filled cake." Bella stated as both nodded, and started cutting an inch of the already flattened cake off, boaring an indent in the cake, putting the scraps out for whomever was brave enough to brave Bella's kitchen to retrieve before coating the bowl with the pouring fondant then filling it with the filling that Caleb and Ross made and replacing the top of the cake, before sliding the cake, which was resting on a cardboard slider towards Seth, whom laid the fondant that he was rolling on the cake with fluency that could only be accomplished through practice working together.

"Pick up the pace people- we need to get this cake done and everything cleaned up before they get back!"

~*~(NixPOV)~*~

I knew that Jared was up to something when he claimed that he was the only one able to get off work. Griffin and Xavier generally only worked the closing shifts, and I doubt that either Bella or Jake wouldn't give at least one of their pack employees a few hours off to pick Danny and I up. But when Danny brought up that the younger pack members might be patrolling, I considered the fact that both Bella's baked goods and Jake's mechanic work were among the most demanded commodities in the greater Forks area, and that the younger pack members were probably in fact on patrol. Only one hole was left uncovered- neither Jared or Taylor had any shifts today, and neither did I, so neither of them would have to cover for me like they did when I went to the trials or the games. I just figured that Taylor was on patrol with Griffin and Xavier.

When we pulled up to the cabin, all was silent, which shouldn't have surprised me, given that everyone was out, but that space was _never_ quiet.

I was apprehensive as I approached the door, cautiously slipping inside the darkened, silent space with Danny following close behind.

I barely registered the scent of freshly baked cakes when the lights snapped on and the whole remainder of the pack jumped out.

"Surprise!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin, while Danny was laughing his head off. I looked back among our friends- our family, and saw what he was laughing at- Quil was crawling out of the pantry, covered in flour, and Liza and Drew were trying their best to crawl out from under the kitchen sink.

A smile slowly spread across my face at the scene.

Only when you know each other like family would something like this happen.

~*~X~*~

I like reviews, and candy. I like reviews more, they last longer. Please review (or send me candy).


	90. Writing the Future

This is another of my favorite moments in this fic.

This is where the final loose ends start to be tied up.

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and plot. The existing plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 89 Writing the Future (BPOV)

~*~X~*~

~One Month Later~

"Bella, you need to get beauty sleep." Alice whined as I watched Emmett, Carlisle, Quil and Jared setting log benches in rows as Rosalie and Ursula were trimming branches from the small gap between the trees, the branches being given to Esme, whom was working with Alice on the finer details of the whole ensemble.

"Alice, I agreed to let you _help_ plan, not take it all upon yourself!"

"Everything's going to be perfect Bella, trust me."

"Alice…"

"Where do you want this?" Alec asked, returning with his arms full of moss.

"Make the aisle out of it."

"Sure, but where?"

"Seriously? Does no one have vision?!" Alice complained as she took the moss from Alec with a huff and started laying each clump just so. But she was moving fast enough that she could have been placing each strand individually for all Bella knew.

Bella squeaked as a pair of warm arms snaked around her waist from behind.

"She's right beautiful. Alice has everything under control." Jake whispered, his voice dipping into the husky timbre that made me want to submit to him on the spot.

"Jake…" Bella moaned as he started planting kisses on her neck "We can't- bad luck remember?"

"Who said we had to follow _all_ the traditions?" He questioned as he continued his ministrations.

"I do, now shoo." Alice intervened, motioning for Jake to scram. "Now go get your beauty sleep."

"But it's only like… five Alice. The sun doesn't even set for at least another couple hours…"

"Yes, now get going. I'll be by in a few to help you prepare."

"Alice…!" I complained as Alice started pushing me away from the scene, Jake already walking away- no doubt as a result of Ursula's hypnotism.

"Gogogo."

"Fine Alice!" I snapped as I shook her off, stalking off to the pack's cabin.

"Are you sure she's okay?" Emmett whispered to Alice.

"She'll get over it in a few hours."

~*~X~*~

I sat on the cliff's bluff, looking out over the ocean, the waves breaking a short ways out to sea, the cool sea breeze carrying with it the crisp oceanic scent, in contrast to the lush scents of the forest and earth that they were all so accustomed to.

I closed my eyes, breathing in the ocean air, wondering how my life could have ended up so perfectly. I have the man I love, and a family who cares.

"And to think, that all this might not have happened, if it weren't for that accident…"

I sighed.

"But, everything's perfect now. Our family is coming together seamlessly, especially after Sam and Emily got married two years ago. Jake was the next one to pop the question… I can still remember the day like it was yesterday…"

~*~(Flashback)~*~

"Bells, come with me?" Jacob asked, after the excitement of Nix and Danny announcing that they would be going to the Olympic Trials died down.

"Sure Jake." She replied, excusing herself from her conversation with Kiza, Leah, Kathy and Emily to follow Jake.

Jacob shifted his weight nervously as he watched Bella approach him. He had every reason to be so- in the pocket of his shorts was a small, velvet covered box.

"Where're we going Jake?" Bella asked as she caught up to him.

Jacob inhaled a shaky breath before replying "The beach."

Bella nodded and started out the door. Jake stole a glance at Embry and Seth- the only others who knew what he was going to do. They both gave Jake slight nods.

Jacob took a deep breath and turned to follow Bella.

They walked along the cliff, following the ledge along the coast.

"So Jake, what did you need to talk to me alone about?"

"N-not now Bells." Jacob stuttered, accelerating his pace slightly in order to remain ahead of Bella.

"You can't be jealous of Nx and Danny could you Jake?! This is their dream come true!"

"No Bells I…"

"Then what…" Bella gasped "It couldn't be the day your mom died, could it?!"

A rush of pain shot through Jake, the painful memories associated with his mother's untimely death hitting him full force.

"Bells no- that was a couple months ago…"

Another wave of pain and sorrow washed over Jacob. He felt guilty that he had forgotten his own mother's death, because he was having fun with his friends, whom had all given way too much for their duties already, and would continue to do so until the day they died.

"Jake I'm so sorry, I didn't realize…"

"No Bells… it's okay."

"No it's not Jake! I just cause painful memories to surfa…!" Bella started, before Jake captured her mouth with his, their lips dancing in the throughs of passion.

"Bells… I have to- have to sh-show you something." Jake mumbled as he pulled away, resuming their walk through the forest.

Imprinting may solve many problems, such as finding your perfect mate, but it was anything but perfect. The imprint didn't tell you how to propose, how to talk to your imprint, what signs to look for- the imprint just told you that you found her, your soulmate… your everything.

Jacob stopped on the cliff overlooking First Beach, gazing over the beach and ocean, the sky and sea dyed a rich orange color as the sun sunk lower and lower on the horizon.

"I-it's beautiful Jake…" Bella whispered, awestruck as she moved to stand next to Jake.

He glanced over at Bella.

She turned towards him and smiled a small smile before turning back to the scene before them.

_So beautiful_… Jacob thought as he dropped to one knee and grabbed Bella's left hand.

"Jake, what are you doing?!"

"Bella, I've loved you since we were kids, and all throughout my early days as a wolf, not a day passed where I didn't think about you, or worry for your safety."

"Jake I…"

Jacob shook his head, their eyes locking.

"When you also phased, I was torn in two. On one side I could be with you again, but on the other you were doomed to the same fate that I was- bound to La Push. When I didn't imprint on you, I was devastated, and all my hope had pretty much faded at that point. But after we broke away from Sam's pack, and we imprinted, it just made what I knew since we were children real- that you were the only one for me. Isabella Marie Swan, will you marry me?" Jacob pulled the velvet box from his pocket, lifting the top lid of the blue velvet box to reveal a diamond ring- a half karat radiant cut diamond inlayed in a band of white gold.

"Jake…" Bella managed to blurt out as tears started to pool in her eyes.

"It was my grandmothers. Dad gave it to me after I phased- if I found my imprint he wanted me to propose as soon as possible. Granted It didn't work out that way but…"

"Yes."

"What?"

"I'll marry you Jake." Bella sobbed as she dove for Jake, catching him in a hug.

Jacob stood up, removing the ring from the box and sliding it over Bella's ring finger as she watched.

Huge tears streamed out of Bella's eyes as Jake locked eyes with her again.

The sunlight reflected off her face, highlighting her perfect facial features.

Jake leaned in and captured her lips in another passionate kiss, their arms wrapping around each other as the sun dipped below the horizon.

~*~(JPOV)~*~

"Hey Jake."

"Jake."

"Jake!"

"Hm?" I blinked as reality came back into focus, the memory fading as my friends appeared- Embry, Nix and Seth all standing around me, sitting on a bleached driftwood log.

"Jake, come on. It's time for your bachelor party!" Seth exclaimed.

"Wait, what?"

"Come on- you promised that you'd have one after Sam didn't…"

"Yeah, but I also planned to be engaged for more than a few weeks."

"You had the ring. Why didn't you get down on one knee sooner?"

"You know why…"

"Yeah, the imprint only tells you who- it doesn't tell you how."

"How hard could it be?"

"Wait until you have to propose." I muttered, Nix gently nodding his head in agreement- the only one of the trio that knew what I was talking about, the only other one of us four who had imprinted. "Let's just get this over with." I sighed, standing up to go wherever they had planned the party, which I assume that Alice and Emmett helped with.

~*~X~*~

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	91. Flowers of Love

Oh my god, I'm so sorry I uploaded the wrong chapter yesterday, not that it made much difference...

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and plot, the existing characters and plot belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 90 Flowers of Love (KathyPOV)

~*~X~*~

"Bella!" (Alice)

"What if it rains Alice? Your visions aren't perfect, at least not with the wolfpack around…"

"Bella!" (Leah)

"What if one of the guys forgot to wear their waistcoat…?"

"Bella!" (Kristen)

"What if a vampire comes onto the rez during the ceremony…?"

"BELLA!" (Liza)

"What's she talking about Kathy? Vampires and wolves?"

"Must just be the stress. You know what Karsyn was like before the ceremony a few years ago."

"Yeah, but she wasn't this crazy."

"Well she didn't have an outdoor wedding."

"Why don't you two get into your dresses while I try to calm Bella down?" Alice suggested, directing us out of her room and into Rosalie's with our dresses.

"I never would've thought that you would come back here after you graduated Angela, after all you have a degree from Harvard. Why did you come back to Forks and not go someplace bigger, like New York City?"

"I was feeling kinda homesick after being away from home all this time, especially since I was so close to home when I went to the U."

"I can understand that."

"And… Promise not to tell anyone?"

"It won't leave this room."

"This'll sound crazy, but I felt like something was pulling me back here."

I blinked twice in shock. That was the way I felt when I decided to come live here with my cousin instead of with my older sister in California. And, the result was me reuniting with Nix and me becoming his imprint. "Well, that's… something."

"I know, isn't it?"

"I told you that it was crazy…"

"No, no Angela- it's not as strange as you think."

"What…?"

"Come on, let's get in these dresses before Alice comes in here."

~*~(BPOV)~*~

"What if Jake gets cold feet and doesn't show up…?"

"That's it!" Leah's scream could have quite possibly been audible throughout the entire mansion. "Listen to yourself! I don't know where you've been while Jake's phased, but he's just as nervous about this whole thing as you are! He pestered me for weeks before he actually proposed to make it perfect for you! If you think that he's going to bail on you, then you obviously don't see the love in his gaze whenever he looks at you!"

I looked toward Alice, who nodded, then to Liza, Kathy and Kristen whom all did the same.

"Now come on- let's get you into your dress…" Alice whispered.

~*~(EmbryPOV)~*~

I'd have to give it to her- Alice is brilliant!

Since the area of the forest was pretty sparse, dark green curtains were hung in a loose semicircle behind all the benches, concealing all of us from the guests, which was mainly composed of pack and friends from school. Billy was already seated in the front row, and Renee was with Bella and the other bridesmaids, while Phil was pacing behind the curtain.

"I'll see you at the altar." Minister Weber told Jake as he walked down the aisle, to arrive at the altar that was just finished earlier today. The arch wasn't perfect, and just about traced the gap between the trees that looked upon the beach. Moss, ferns and fronds of evergreen were woven into a rough metal frame creating the arch that appeared as if it were plucked from this very forest.

The wind shifted, and a wondrous scent drifted across my nose, Bella, Leah. Kathy, Alice, Liza and Kristen's scents all following the wind, but that one scent overpowering all the others.

"Do you smell that?"

"Smell what Embry?" Jake asked, sniffing the air "Vampire?"

"You do know that Alice is the maid of honor, right?" Seth questioned.

"I know, but… It smells like roses and peaches with a small bit of orange…"

Taylor sniffed the air "I don't smell anything like that."

Alice came out of the forest first, followed by Liza, Kathy and Kristen. Leah was holding a dark green sheet up, obviously blocking Bella and the source of the wondrous scent.

"Alice!" Bella called out from behind another, heavier suspended curtain.

"Be right there!" Alice rushed behind the curtain as Leah moved to stand next to Emmett.

Kristen and Taylor had moved together, as had Kathy and Nix.

I heard something move from behind the curtain, and out from behind the curtain stepped the most beautiful being I'd ever seen. Her black hair falling down past her shoulders, the hair that would have normally framed her face pulled around her head in two braids, meeting in the back of her head with a crescent moon pin.

She turned her head toward me and smiled.

My heart almost stopped when I locked gazed with her dark brown eyes.

The entire world melted away from around me, the only thing I could see was her.

"Ang!"

"Coming Bella!" the beauty replied as she went back behind the curtain.

A low growl built up in my throat.

"Embry, you didn't." Jake stated.

"Jake, I…"

"Don't talk. Your wolf won't let you walk down the aisle with Alice."

"I-I'll try…"

**_NO. We will NOT walk with a leech!_**

"Don't even try to argue with me Em. **You are no longer my best man.**"

"B-but J-Jake…"

"No Em." Jake sighed as he rubbed his temples. "Seth, you were supposed to walk with Angela right?"

"Yep." Seth nodded.

**_MINE._**

"How would you feel about being my best man?"

"But Jake…"

"No Seth. You're walking with Alice and Embry's walking with Angela. **Em, you will move away from Angela at the front of the aisle.**"

**_NO! NONONONONO! You can't make me!_**

_It's Jake and Bella's special day! You are NOT going to ruin it for them._

"O-okay Jake."

~*~(JPOV)~*~

"Alright everyone, get with your partner!" Esme announced, and Angela and Alice emerged from behind the curtain that hid my Bella.

All the girls had a crescent moon in their hair somewhere, and were wearing matching dresses made of a deep green fabric with a subtle pattern that gave the slight illusion that leaves were dancing around the tight dresses that ended mid-thigh, with sleeves that appeared more of a veil than anything- an addition made to conceal the pack tattoo on Leah and Liza's arms. Alice and Liza's dresses were slightly different.

Alice's dress was slightly longer than the rest, with sleeves of the same material that fell loosely about her arms, with a deep green silk scarf draped across her shoulders. Liza's dress ended just below her knees, and the fabric was actually cut and sewed together to imitate leaves, the same veil-like sleeves hiding her shoulders. Liza looked like a little pixie, with the basket of flowers that she held in one arm.

"Now it's time to put on the corsages!" Esme exclaimed, handing out the lush green bundles to each couple. "Phil and Renee, why don't you two do yours first?" Esme suggested as she held the camera at the ready.

"Of course." Renee replied, carefully pinning the corsage on Phil's tux before Phil pinned Renee's corsage on her dress.

"Now Renee, why don't you do Jacob's, then we'll go down the line?"

Liza and Drew were the last of us to get their flowers pinned on, before Phil disappeared behind the curtain with Bella's bouquet of flowers.

"It's time." I whispered.

I looked among our friends, pausing briefly on Embry. I could see his inner conflict in his eyes, though he gave me a nod.

"Shall we proceed?" Renee asked me as she wrapped her arm around mine.

"Yes, we shall." I replied as Esme went to the other side of the curtain, meeting Rosalie to take pictures of our entrance.

I inhaled deeply.

This is the day that I've been waiting more than five years for- the day where I finally marry Bells.

~*~X~*~

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	92. The Bells are Tolling Part I

I just have one thing to say. Just four words...

I. HATE. PLANNING. WEDDINGS.

That is all.

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs, and my own plot points, as well as the embellishments I added to the plot. The existing characters and plot belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 91 The Bells are Tolling- Part I (ThirdPOV)

~*~X~*~

As Jacob came through the curtain with Renee on his arm, the entire audience turned their heads.

Jacob fanned the gathered crowd with his eyes. On the right side of the aisle were some distant relatives, Billy, Colin, Sam, Emily, Taylor and Kristen as well as Old Quil and Sue. As his gaze shifted over to the left side of the aisle, it appeared more full of the supernatural than of the normal: Carlisle and Jasper were both in tails, while Alec was in a three piece suit with Ursula in a deep blue dress with his hand in her lap. Behind them sat the rest of the pack: Jared, Paul, Quil, Dustin, Danny, Harper, Xavier, Brady, Caleb, Ross and Griffin.

Esme and Rosalie were taking as many pictures as humanly possibly, while video cameras hidden among the greenery lining the aisle, and creating a canopy above everyone caught everything else.

Jacob took another deep breath as he walked down the aisle with Renee, guiding her to the small bench at the front of the gathered group. Renee's black dress moved with every step she took, appearing as a churning ocean on a stormy night as small blotches of midnight blue seemingly moved of their own accord around her body.

Renee kissed Jacob once on his cheek before she sat down, giving him a small smile as be backed away and took his place to the right of the aisle next to the altar.

Alice and Seth were the next two to appear from behind the curtain next, the guests rising, being drawn to the best man and maid of honor.

Tears gathered at the corners of Sue's eyes at the sight of her baby in a three piece suit, the deep green waistcoat visible from beneath his jacket, buttoned only once. A small bundle consisting of a small fern frond, a piece of an evergreen branch, a small bundle of feathers and a small amount of moss was held behind his left ear. A small amount of glitter was among the moss in Alice's frond. Alice had a matching piece behind her right ear, while her crescent moon was nestled at the base of the small piece. The bouquet in Alice's hands was consisted solely of foliage from the forest as well as feathers and some moss as a filler.

After waiting fifteen seconds, they began their walk down the mossy aisle hand in hand.

Jasper looked on the sight of his wife walking down the aisle while holding hands with a werewolf longingly- it was time for them to renew their vows.

Once Alice and Seth started walking, the music of a string quartet sang out- courtesy of the Denali clan, whom were just behind the green curtain. The sound of a harp gradually joined in, followed soon by a piano- Edward.

Angela and Embry were the next couple to appear, the same fronds, without glitter, tucked behind the same ears that the previous two had, albeit they were a touch smaller. Angela's crescent was hidden at the back of her head, pulling two braids together in the back of her head.

After a brief pause, they began their procession down the aisle. When it came time for them to part, Embry strained, locking eyes with Jacob, who responded with a small nod, unnoticeable to all who were not supernatural. Embry nodded back, and separated from Angela to take his place behind Seth.

Kathy and Nix were the next couple to emerge, the same fronds tucked behind the same ears as their predecessors. Kathy's hair flowed down to her shoulders naturally, the crescent tucked slightly behind the frond as opposed to Alice's which was resting in front of the frond. Nix and Kathy started moving down the aisle, parting at the altar to take their places behind Angela and Embry.

Leah and Emmett were the next pair to come out from behind the curtain. Both had the same fronds as the previous members of the wedding party, Emmett's having that small amount of glitter sprinkled among the moss. Leah's hair was free- flowing as well, her crescent just above her right eye.

Rosalie looked on Emmett longingly, while Danny's eyes grew at the sight of his imprint. A low rumble started to build in his chest, but was put to rest by his older brother resting a hand on his arm, shaking his head slightly.

Danny reeled in his wolf, nodding slightly back at his brother before turning back around to watch as Leah and Emmett walked down the aisle.

Kristen and Taylor emerged from behind the curtain next, the same fronds tucked behind the same ears yet again. Kristen's hair flowed untamed down her back, a crescent moon in her ebon locks above the nape of her neck. They looked lovingly at each other before starting their walk down the aisle.

Drew appeared from behind the curtain once Kristen and Taylor had separated before the altar, a pillow of ferns and moss in his arms, and on it resting two rings- two bands that represented the union that was about to take place.

Like the rest of the grooms men, he was wearing the same ensemble, including the foliage frond, which had a silver ring embedded in the moss.

As Drew walked down the aisle, Liza slipped from behind the curtain. All eyes zeroed in on Liza as Drew reached the front of the aisle. The individual pieces of Liza's dress fluttering in the light breeze. Her hair was filled with fern fronds, virtually covering all of her hair while a band of evergreen and upright ferns stretched from ear to ear across her forehead, leaving only her bangs uncovered and brushed to either side of her head, a crescent on either side of her head holding her bangs out of the way. Liza had a small basket of pine needles in her left hand.

Liza looked like a forest sprite as she danced down the aisle, sprinkling pine needles on the mossy bed as she moved down the aisle.

Once Liza joined Alice, Angela, Kathy, Leah and Kristen at the altar, everyone's eyes were anxiously watching at the base of the aisle, watching and waiting for Bella to appear.

The curtains parted, revealing Bella with her arm wrapped around Phil's.

Jacob's eyes grew as he took in Bella's dress. He took a step forward, before Seth's hand caught his shoulder, preventing him from moving even closer to his soon-to-be wife. No one took notice, save for the video cameras hidden among the audience and canopy.

Bella's dress clung tightly to her body, the shimmering ivory fabric only interrupted by two crescents of her flesh covered with a fine white mesh curving around the outside of her breasts. Her sleeves clung to her arms, the stream of ivory fabric only broken at her elbows in more crescents of flesh covered in the fine mesh, and mid forearm which flowed into more mesh flowing freely to her wrists. There were four pleats in her dress before it reached the ground, the material holding fairly close to her body, the train being the only part of her dress more than seven inches away from her legs.

Bella and Phil slowly moved down the aisle, the audience turning as Bella and Phil passed them.

As they moved closer and closer to the altar, Bella glanced shyly at Jacob, giving him a small smile before turning back forward.

Renee gasped as she saw the back of Bella's dress- a cut out of a howling wolf finned in with the same transparent mesh stretched across her back.

Phil took Bella's hand, and gently placed it in Jacob's outstretched hand, briefly covering both of their hands with his own, nodding slightly at Jacob, before turning and kissing Bella's forehead and moving to the bench where his wife sat.

Bella gently stepped up onto the concealed platform, turning to look into Jacob's eyes, all the endless love shining in his eyes reflected in her own.

Bella's bouquet mimicked her brides maids', save one small detail- a single white rose.

Jacob and Bella turned towards Minister Weber as the guests sat on the wooden benches laced with ferns, evergreen and moss.

This was just the beginning of their journey through life together.

~*~X~*~

Now you'll notice that this chapter is broken up into parts. This is because of three reasons. First, (See AN before chapter). Second, I'm lazy and didn't feel like writing the entire ceremony. Third, This makes a better transition into the final FOUR chapters.

There are only four chapters left people.

Now, I will be the first to admit that I've gone a bit overboard with the minute details in this chapter, but this is mainly because as I wrote this chapter, the scenes were playing out much as they would in a movie inside my head.

There will be two more parts to "The Bells are Tolling"- the rest of the Ceremony and the Reception. These will probably take longer to come out, as I -am- a guy and am running these chapters through three female sources of mine to ensure that they are written right.

I like reviews, and candy. But reviews last longer... So please leave a review (or send me candy).


	93. Freed From the Cage

Sorry this chapter is so short D:

If I could, I'd rewrite this chapter, but the original covered stuff that is addressed in the next chapter, as well as a whole short storyline that I ultimatly cut because it didn't seem realistic to me.

A few days ago, I accidentally uploaded chapter 91 instead of 90, and then the next day when I realized my mistake, I uploaded chapter 90 and switched the order, so if you have yet to read a dialogue between Angela and Kathy, as well as Bella worrying like I assume most brides do, then please go back and read chapter 90 (91).

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the non-original plot. The original plot and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 92 Freed from the Cage (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

~*One Year Later*~

"Hey Jake, Alice sent us another postcard!" Bella called from the kitchen as she sifted through the mail.

"Really? Where from?" I replied- So far we've gotten postcards from China, Laos, Thailand and Russia from the Cullens, apparently they were traveling through Asia, investigating, and putting to rest rumors that the Volturi had spread about the coven in one last ditch attempt to get revenge against the Cullens.

"Japan. Alice says that they're coming back in a month to talk to us about something."

"Did she say what?"

"Nope." She responded as I walked into the kitchen, drawing Bella into a hug as I drew closer.

"Come on, we have a pack meeting soon."

"Can't it wait?" Bella whined.

"I wish it could." I answered as I planted a kiss on her forehead, drawing her hair behind her shoulder as I looked upon the bite mark at the base of her neck- my claim.

**_Mine..._**

_Ours._

**_Ours._**

~*~X~*~

"And you're certain that there is no record of when previous packs stopped phasing?"

"I remember seeing my grandfather phase once when I was a young lad" Old Quil stated "He must've continued phasing into his nineties."

"There's no way we're phasing that long!" Seth blurted out, echoed by the rest of the packs' agreement.

"We have more to do than they did- we can't live off the land anymore." Nix's voice rang above the rest of the pack "College _is_ still in the cards for us, and after the incident with the Volturi, it's highly unlikely that any vampires are going to threaten the rez."

"I agree with Nix." Sam spoke up "Our lives have been put on the backburner for the past six years. It's time that the shackles be removed."

"But what if a vampire does come onto our lands? What will we do if you all are gone?!" Old Quil's voice rose.

"Do you even hear yourself?!" Leah shouted "What if a leech does stray onto out territory? Do you know how many leeches that we've encountered in the past three years? One. One rogue three years ago."

"How many wars have we fought in?" Paul started "Two. One against fucking baby leeches and another against the Supreme Court of the leech world. We've come through both with no casualties- only injuries and battle scars." Paul motioned to Taylor's chest, which still displayed a thick scar from the fight against the Volturi- a constant reminder of what we went through, and more likely than not, a permanent one.

"How old were most of us when we phased?" Jared demanded "Sam, Paul and I were Seniors- we were the lucky ones. Everyone else had to juggle school with constant patrols. The rest of us couldn't even be in a relationship without the fear of imprinting hanging over our heads."

"B-but imprinting is a blessing…"

"No, it's not." Leah snapped "It's an illusion meant to trick the man into thinking that he is satisfied."

"What about Isabella and Jacob then?! Hmmm?!"

"We were in love long before either of us phased." Bella cut in.

"So have we come to an agreement?" I asked "All in favor of the pack continuing phasing, and staying on the rez?"

Only one hand went up- Old Quil's.

"And all in favor of the pack ceasing phasing and going about the lives that were robbed from us."

Twenty-three hands- every member of the pack, Billy's and Sue's.

"How could you two go along with this?!" Old Quil turned on dad.

"Quil, It's time. Our children need to move on."

"But…"

"I agree wholeheartedly." Sue added "I've watched as my children were forced to grow up in the mater of a few days, cutting their childhood short."

"It is an honor to be a spirit warrior!"

"Then maybe you'd like to live with what we've had to do then?" Paul snapped "How would you like it if your entire life was ripped from your grasp because of some gene your father carried? I'd just LOVE to see you attempt to live one day with what we have to live with every day!"

"I-I…" Old Quil stuttered as he swayed side ti side on the log he was sitting on, finally falling backwards off the log.

"Grandfather!" Quil cried as he rushed to his grandfather's side.

The pack sat still, keen ears listening in a solemn silence...

Listening as twenty-four heartbeats were reduced to twenty-three.

~*~X~*~

Poor Quil...

I've virtually neglected him (and Paul, and Sam, and Colin, and Brady) the entire story...

But this is necessary in my opinion.

This story is winding down people- only one chapter left to go before the dual epilogues!

I like reviews, and candy. But reviews last longer... But I can eat candy... Please leave a review (Or send me candy).


	94. Everything Good Always Comes to an End

Here we are, the last chapter before the epilogue.

This has been one hell of a ride, hasn't it?

I actually just wrote this a few days ago, another complete rewrite, adding both length and content.

More will be said after the chapter.

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and plot. The original characters and plot belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest 93 Everything Good Always Comes to an End (JPOV)

~*~X~*~

~*One Month Later*~

"Jake, Alice just called- they're already here!"

"Hurry up and call Tay… Alice did want him to come with us right?"

"Yep." Bella replied as she dialed Taylor's number.

"They're here?"

"Yep."

"Meet you there."

As soon as Bella hung up, we were both out the door, stripping our clothes off our bodies and tucking them under the leather chords wrapped around our ankles.

I felt the familiar warmth seep up my spine as I exploded into my russet brown wolf.

_"Ready?" _Bella asked.

_"Yep." _I responded, looking into the deep brown eyes of her golden wolf.

_"Hey guys."_ Taylor greeted us as he phased in.

_"Hey Tay."_ I responded.

_"So, you two decided what you're gonna do yet?"_

_"No, not really…"_

_"Even though Embry, Nix, Seth and Leah have stopped?"_

_"We're the alphas Tay- It's not as easy for us as it was for everyone else."_

_"I don't see how much different it could be."_

_"Sam and Emily moved so that both of them could go to college, and as a result stopped phasing. Jared stopped phasing because he found his true love, even though Kim isn't his imprint. Paul imprinted on my sister, and stopped phasing so she could follow her dreams to New York. Need I continue?"_

_"So the first three wolves have moved on, so what? They've sacrificed just as much as you, if not a touch less."_

_"Nix stopped phasing in order to help Kathy raise their child, and Danny stopped phasing because of the close bond he shares with Nix, and by extension Leah stopped as well. Seth and Embry have both started pursing their own careers, granted they could have continued phasing because they founded their own mechanics shop, but I wasn't going to force them to keep phasing. Dustin got a job in carpentry in Seattle, and doesn't have the time to continue phasing."_

_"All you've done is list the reasons the rest of the pack had to stop phasing. You still haven't answered my question Jake."_

_"Everyone else had a reason to stop. Bella and I have an obligation to continue phasing- to lead the pack."_

_"Then, watch this…" _

~*~(TaylorPOV- flashback)~*~

"So what if they're the alphas?! That shouldn't affect whether or not you stop!"

"Kris, Jake and I are the only two wolves still phasing with a strong semblance of the Black bloodline…"

"I still don't see how that would matter Tay…"

I sighed before attempting to explain everything to her _again_ "Kristen, before Jake became alpha, the pack didn't feel right to any of the wolves."

Kristen nodded, and I continued.

"The reason why Jake became alpha was because the other pack fell apart because a Black wasn't the alpha…"

"So why don't they just phase until everyone else stops? I don't see why you have to keep phasing Tay…"

"Kristen, we're nineteen! They're twenty-two! They've been phasing for six years, I've been phasing for three! I'm going to keep phasing because I'm going to offer to become alpha when they retire."

"But Taylor…"

"Shut up Kris." I felt a sharp sting, an effect of the imprint that effectively forces the wolf to be whatever the imprint wants "I'm going to do this. You can't stop me."

"Oh really? Have you forgotten that your wolf forces you to do whatever I want?! Well I don't want you to keep phasing."

"You have no say over pack business Kristen- you know that. You learned that when you tied to keep me from going on patrol."

**_Damn straight. Pack first, imprint second, everything else third._**

"You can't do this to me Taylor! I love you!"

"Hah! She loves me, says the one who slept with that jock the night after graduation."

Another harsh sting started, but stopped abruptly as Kristen's eyes grew in size exponentially.

"H-how…?"

"Don't think I didn't see you leaving the party with Rob after I turned you down, and did _you_ forget about the imprint? I felt your pleasure Kris, and I felt a whole heck of a lot of pain because it wasn't me that you were with."

**_She really did that?_**

_Yep._

**_When? Why didn't I notice?_**

_You were on a little rampage inside my head because _I_ didn't want to sleep with her._

**_That bitch. Screw this._**

Kristen looked close to tears, when I felt the cable that was connecting me to her break- I couldn't feel her sadness through the imprint anymore, heck, I couldn't even _feel_ the imprint at all.

**_Go find another mate._**

~*~(End flashback)~*~

~*~(JPOV)~*~

_"Wow. I didn't know that our wolves could dictate our imprints like that…"_

_"Yeah, well…"_

_"It's really sweet of you to take the mantle as alpha to let us retire Tay." _Bella cooed.

_"It's nothing, I mean it made my wolf break my imprint, but I never really liked her anyway."_

_"But you two always seemed so happy together…"_

_"It was all the imprint Bella… hey look, we're here."_

Bella and I looked up, seeing the Cullen mansion, as well as Taylor's red-brown wolf.

_"I wonder what Alice wanted to talk with us about?" _Taylor wondered.

_"Add onto that the fact that Alice wanted to talk with the three of us- her visions usually are not that clear when it comes to us…"_

_"We won't know until we talk with her."_

_"Yeah."_

Bella and I wandered a short ways into the forest to phase back and pull our clothes back on.

"Now we have the option to stop phasing with our friends Jake." Bella pondered as she cuddled into my side.

"But as long as we continue to phase, we won't age, and there aren't any negative side effects that we know of, besides our appetites…"

"Though we would have to move every ten or so years, get false identities- we'd essentially be living like the Cullens."

"But we'd really be together forever Bells…"

"Are you two even decent yet!?" Taylor called from behind the bushes a short distance away.

"We're on our way Tay!" Bella responded "Come on, let's go Jake!" she gripped my hand, pulling me in the direction of the Cullen mansion.

No matter what happens, or is said inside that house, one thing will stay the same- I love Bella with all my heart, and everything I am.

~*~X~*~

...

The majority of this rewrite was inspired by the recent events surrounding KStew and RPats- Kristen and Taylor were modeled after KStew and Lautner. I'm honestly surprised that no one actually caught that.

So what do you thing Jacob and Bella should do? Phase forever and keep their love eternal, or give up phasing to age with their packmates?

Read Epilogue A for the later, and Epilogue B for the later.

Most of the sappy stuff will be in Epilogue B.

Please review.


	95. Happily, Joyously, Peacefully Ever After

This is the epilogue you should read if you preferred Jacob and Bella Stop phasing along with the rest of the pack.

This is also the epilogue that I least prefer, but this would, I suppose, make the most sense with where I left the story at the end of the last chapter.

I hope you enjoy this epilogue.

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and plot. The original characters and plot belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest Epilogue A Happily, Joyously, Peacefully Ever After

~*~X~*~

~*Ten Years Later*~

"Come on Daddy, play with us!"

I laughed as my son tried to pull me towards the other boys from my place among the former members of the wolfpack.

Bella and I stopped phasing about a year after the Cullens came to visit us, Alice claiming to have seen a vision of Bella and I with them in Peru, which had been their next stop on their worldly migration.

Taylor took up the mantle of alpha once Bella and I had stopped phasing, leaving nine other wolves in my cousin's care. Kristen died in a car crash along with Rob- the person she had cheated on Taylor with, a few weeks after Taylor took the mantle. It also came as a shock to everyone that she was about a month pregnant. Taylor denied being the father, to which a DNA test confirmed- she had continued seeing Rob behind Taylor's back, and Rob was confirmed to be the biological father. Drew and Liza stopped phasing about a year later, followed soon by Colin and Brady. The remaining six wolves continued phasing for two years after that before slowing down, and finally stopping entirely.

Sam and Emily came back to the rez after Sam graduated with a degree in engineering, and Paul returned with Rachel after her career took a nosedive in New York, accompanied by our father's death. That week was the worst week of my life, but I made it through with Bella's help. Rachel took a job at the Port Angeles hospital, while Paul got a job at the mechanic shop that I co-owned with Embry and Seth.

"Beck, help me!" my pup cried as he tugged uselessly on my arm.

Beck sighed, ever the responsible one. Being the oldest of all our pups, he was usually in charge of babysitting the others. Beck was born by Carlisle's hand, as were all our children, in the Cullen mansion which now lays abandoned and unused save for Carlisle's office, where he delivered and will deliver all of the pack's children.

Beck half jogged, half walked towards me, his green eyes tired and worn from the others pulling him every which way. He had a striking resemblance to his father, though you could see his mother in him.

"Yay!" my kid exclaimed, as Beck wrapped his arms around his four-year-old torso "Hey! You're supposed to _help_ me Beck!" he whined as Beck trudged back toward the other kids.

"Leave your dad alone Hunter, I'm sure he wants some time to talk to our aunts and uncles…"

Hunter's chocolate brown eyes pulled in a puppy dog stare almost broke my self-resolve, until I was hit on the head with a wooden spoon.

"Ow!"

"Why's Beck carrying our son away from you?" Bella demanded, brandishing her wooden spoon of death for another blow.

"Bells, you know the way he is, always clinging to me…"

"That's because he looks up to you." She stated, the hard wood making contact with my head again.

The guys started snickering "Thanks a lot." I grumbled.

"Yeah!"

A series of cracks alerted the kids that their mothers were angry with their fathers.

Why did Emily have to give each female one of those damn spoons?! Better yet, why do those spoons have to be so damn durable!?

"Bells?"

"Yeah?"

"Love ya."

"Love you too, now go play with the kids."

I stood up, watching the other females nodding their heads before smacking their husbands again, making them each get up one by one to join me in our quest to entertain our puppies.

Even though I had stopped phasing years ago, I still heard my wolf. Our wolves merely fused with our own souls instead of vanishing when we stopped phasing, as decreed by Liza. The other guys never heard their wolves after they stopped, yet I kept hearing him on occasion.

I took in the sight of all of our kids playing with each other, the oldest breaking up the scuffles between the younger ones.

Boys and Girls both tumbled around each other in a tangle of limbs, not yet old enough to know the differences between them.

"Dad!" Hunter squealed as he wrapped himself around my legs, rubbing his cheek against me "I told you mommy would make him play with us Beck!" he announced, Beck rubbing his temples and shaking his head.

Nix laughed a little at my son's reaction, before he was tackled first, by the entire litter of kids as they knocked down all of their fathers, sitting on us in triumph before they all went squealing into the lodge after their mothers, Beck staying behind.

"Three, two, one." He counted, and right on cue they all came scurrying back out, running from their angry mothers who were waving their cursed spoons at them.

I smiled as I watched our puppies scatter, hiding behind flowerbeds and trees, Hunter running straight towards me.

_My pup._

**_Our pup._**

~*~X~*~

I'd like to thank each and every person who reviewed this story, and I would list them here if I had the time, but unfortunately, I don't. As such, I'd like to thank a few very special reviewers here.

First, I'd like to thank Matthias Stormcrow for reviewing every chapter, from the prologue through the chapter 93. You have no Idea how good it felt to know that at least one person read, enjoyed, and looked forward to reading this fic in the early stages- it gave me a reason to finish it, knowing that at least one person enjoyed it.

Next I'd like to thank the guest reviewer Dee. Even though you just started reviewing recently, I'm glad that you commented on some of the earlier chapters, and that you like my rants.

Lastly, I'd like to thank Kerensparkle. I've never connected to a reviewer in the way that I have with you. Thank you.

Now, just because I thanked those three people personally doesn't mean I'm overlooking anyone else! I love and thank you for each and every one of your reviews, as well as anyone who read this story.

The idea for this story came to me about a year ago, when I had just started reading Twilight Fanfiction. I almost instantly became enamored by the Wolf!Bella subgenre, and saddened by the lack of Wolf!Bella fics, decided to write my own. Originally, this fic was going to follow the books/movies pretty closely, but then smaller sub-plots started developing with the inclusion of my OCs. Nix originally started out as a self-insert, reflecting me. Danny and Dustin stemmed from my desire to have siblings. Liza, was an oditty indeed. Originally, she was not going to phase, instead replacing Claire as Quil's imprint and serving as the 'informant' as to who was going to phase. I honestly don't remember why I made her phase, but doing so allowed for me to create Drew, Jared's younger brother, the idea was inspired by another fic, just as Danny's physical pain was. I had fun with the last 6 wolves to phase, essentially just giving them names to make it easier on me. Taylor came as a reference to Taylor Lautner, then Kristen referencing Kristen Stewart. Their break-up in chapter 93 was inspired by the events that have transpired between KStew and RPatz recently.

This first epilogue was inspired by another fic as well, though not quite as extreme.

The second epilogue was the way I was originally planning to end the story, but didn't exactly fit right.

I am currently planning at least three outtakes, two wedding outtakes and one outtake from preparing to fight the Volturi, though they are subject to change.

As for my future plans, I am planning to start an AU fic with a BellaXEmbry pairing. I've been planning this fic for a while- I already have about three distinct story arcs planned.

Now, I'll leave you with these final words:

I hope that you enjoyed this story that I've woven, and that you will read what I post in the future.

I like reviews, and candy. But reviews last longer, so... Please review (Or send me candy).


	96. For Now, Always, and Forever

This is the epilogue you should read if you preferred Jacob and Bella continue phasing, and thusly so let their love for each other be eternal.

This is also the epilogue that I prefer more, but would make the least sense with where I left the story at the end of the last chapter, but still be doable.

I hope you enjoy this epilogue.

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and plot. The original characters and plot belong to Stephanie Meyer.

~*~X~*~

Call of the Forest Epilogue B For Now, Always, and Forever

~*~X~*~

~*Two Hundred Seventy-Four Years Later*~

"Isn't it beautiful?" I breathed.

"Yeah" she paused "How long has it been since we were here last?"

"I don't know… It feels like just yesterday, yet I know it's been much longer than that."

"A-are you two wolves?" a voice that sounded exactly like Nix asked, yet it couldn't be him- we had watched his funeral from the shadows over a hundred years ago.

"Are you related to Phoenix Lowell?" I asked, not shifting my gaze from the orange sky, the sun casting a beautiful glowing gradient of oranges, purples and reds across the darkening sky.

"Y-yes… I-I'm Cole Lowell."

"Why do you think we're wolves?"

"Y-you two sm-smell like m-my pack mates, only different…"

"Packmates!?" I exclaimed, snapping around, the boy falling to the ground.

I took the lanky boy in- he had Embry's build, and Nix's voice and eyes. Their family trees must've crossed somewhere. He lacked a shirt and shoes, yet seemed absolutely comfortable in his own skin. Fear-scent was rolling off him in waves.

"Y-yeah, m-my p-packmates and I… I-We had t-to k-kill a few v-vampires a m-month ago…"

"Nomads?" Bella asked.

"Y-yeah." Cole nodded vigorously.

"Have you ever heard of Jacob Black?" I asked. Again Cole nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, who doesn't!? There are tons of legends about him and his pack, they were the largest in Quileute history!" Cole's face lit up "He had a russet wolf, and he imprinted on Bella Swan, and they united the Cullens and the pack to defeat the Volturi! But, after that, not much is known about where they went- the only things left from them were a few letters from Jacob and Bella to a few packmates, so everyone just assumed that they left…"

"Kid, Cole was it?" Cole nodded "Do you want to know what really happened to them?" He scrambled to his knees and leaned in close "Jacob and Bella got visited by the Cullens, and Alice told them that she had a vision of them with the family in Peru the next year. And they left with the Cullens, but not before Carlisle delivered your great many times over grandfather, Beck."

Cole's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as he took me and my companion in.

"Y-you're J-Jacob a-a-and B-B-Bella B-B-Bl-Black!" He exclaimed, starting to shake.

I recognized the sight all too well. "Get outta your shorts before you phase kid."

Granted it was too late- Cole burst into a mahogany wolf with gray and black streaks and black socks- what it would have looked like if Nix and Embry were fused together.

Cole threw his head back and howled a long, excited howl before happily dancing around in a small circle on the beach.

Three wolves came running out of the woods, all of them about the same size Liza and Drew had been when they first phased- about four and a half feet at the shoulder. The tallest one had a russet coat. Not as brown as mine, but more red like Taylor's. The next tallest had Seth's sandy coat, while the last had Jared's brown coat.

They all looked up at Bells and I with pleading eyes. I didn't need to be able to read minds to know what they were thinking- they wanted to see our wolfs.

Bella and I stripped with speed perfected over our last hundred years or so of phasing, before we burst into our eight-and-a-half-foot-tall wolves- one russet and the other gold.

The kids looked up at us in awe, their heads bowing down before us.

_"You don't need to do that- I'm the alpha of old." _I motioned to the tallest one with my muzzle _"He's your alpha."_

We all phased back and replaced our clothes, all modesty having been thrown out the window.

After a little prying, I had their basic genealogy down- Cole was descended from Nix and Embry, Isaac, who is their alpha, is in fact descended from both Taylor and Embry. The brown wolf is named Lance, and is descended from Leah, Danny and Jared, and the sandy wolf- Rory is descended from Seth, Liza and Drew.

I stood before the elders, explaining the long gap in our whereabouts, and requesting that it not be recorded, so no other wolves would try to live for as long as Bells and I have, as the only reason we hadn't gone insane over the years was because we had each other.

We left the wooden building, leaving behind the promise of returning to aid every future wolfpack.

Bella and I stood on the beach, watching as the sun set again, the sky turning to a dark blue canvas sprinkled with tiny stars.

I smiled as Cole and Rory stumbled out of the undergrowth, followed by Isaac and Lance.

"G-Great A-Alpha…" Cole started.

"Don't even start with it Cole- The last pack tried it with me a hundred years ago."

A hundred years.

It sounds like so long ago, yet it seemed like only yesterday that we had met the ancestors of our pack.

And of course, a few of them were still alive and on the council- Nix, Seth and Embry.

They all died within the year.

"J-J-Jacob, w-would y-you pl-please stay w-with us for a-a l-li-little bit?"

"We're staying here for seven years with the Cullens, don't worry kid." I said, ruffling Cole's hair "But you probably should expect some more wolves to join the pack."

"W-why?"

"There were eight of us when the Cullens were here, and since there are two more members than before, I would suspect at least one more wolf as well."

"D-do you h-have a-any ad-advice?" Cole stuttered, reverence in his voice.

"Connect with your wolves, that way you'll most likely be able to choose your imprint."

Bella and I turned back to the horizon, the sea and sky spreading out before us.

Four teenagers sat in the sand behind us, their eyes trying to find what we were looking at.

But that's impossible, for we weren't looking at anything.

We were remembering.

Our packmates,

Our friends,

And the good times we shared with each other.

Nothing is as precious as your time with your friends;

Your friends support you at your worst and love you at your best,

They laugh and cry with you through all times good and bad,

Nothing can replace them-

Nothing can ever replicate them-

Nothing can ever fit exactly the same way in your heart as they could,

Friends are for:

Now,

Always,

And

Forever.

~*~X~*~

I'd like to thank each and every person who reviewed this story, and I would list them here if I had the time, but unfortunately, I don't. As such, I'd like to thank a few very special reviewers here.

First, I'd like to thank Matthias Stormcrow for reviewing every chapter, from the prologue through the chapter 93. You have no Idea how good it felt to know that at least one person read, enjoyed, and looked forward to reading this fic in the early stages- it gave me a reason to finish it, knowing that at least one person enjoyed it.

Next I'd like to thank the guest reviewer Dee. Even though you just started reviewing recently, I'm glad that you commented on some of the earlier chapters, and that you like my rants.

Lastly, I'd like to thank Kerensparkle. I've never connected to a reviewer in the way that I have with you. Thank you.

Now, just because I thanked those three people personally doesn't mean I'm overlooking anyone else! I love and thank you for each and every one of your reviews, as well as anyone who read this story.

The idea for this story came to me about a year ago, when I had just started reading Twilight Fanfiction. I almost instantly became enamored by the Wolf!Bella subgenre, and saddened by the lack of Wolf!Bella fics, decided to write my own. Originally, this fic was going to follow the books/movies pretty closely, but then smaller sub-plots started developing with the inclusion of my OCs. Nix originally started out as a self-insert, reflecting me. Danny and Dustin stemmed from my desire to have siblings. Liza, was an oditty indeed. Originally, she was not going to phase, instead replacing Claire as Quil's imprint and serving as the 'informant' as to who was going to phase. I honestly don't remember why I made her phase, but doing so allowed for me to create Drew, Jared's younger brother, the idea was inspired by another fic, just as Danny's physical pain was. I had fun with the last 6 wolves to phase, essentially just giving them names to make it easier on me. Taylor came as a reference to Taylor Lautner, then Kristen referencing Kristen Stewart. Their break-up in chapter 93 was inspired by the events that have transpired between KStew and RPatz recently.

The first epilogue was inspired by another fic as well, though not quite as extreme.

This second epilogue was the way I was originally planning to end the story, but didn't exactly fit right given the consequences.

I am currently planning at least three outtakes, two wedding outtakes and one outtake from preparing to fight the Volturi, though they are subject to change.

As for my future plans, I am planning to start an AU fic with a BellaXEmbry pairing. I've been planning this fic for a while- I already have about three distinct story arcs planned.

Now, I'll leave you with these final words:

I hope that you enjoyed this story that I've woven, and that you will read what I post in the future.

I like reviews, and candy. But reviews last longer, so... Please review (Or send me candy).


End file.
